Return
by AUMaker
Summary: The world awaited their return. And now the dark half has. Where is the savior? Naruto is a drifter who lost his mother at a very young age. After getting captured and mistaken as a Momoshiki worshipper, he is brought to the capital city of the Empire, Konoha. The next the knows, he became Empress Hinata's bodyguard! But destiny has a lot more things in store for him.
1. Prologue

Back when the earth was still young, chaos ruled the land. There was no balance, no order, no life. The spiritual energy known as chakra ran rampant, clashing forces with other chakra types, causing destruction and imbalance. The earth shifted every minute, the Earth chakra clashing with the Water chakra in an endless fight for dominance. The void, the Yin chakra, grew rampant, ever shifting and growing unpredictable. The Yang chakra was subdued, unable to create life and balance.

It was a chaotic world filled with destruction. It stayed like that for centuries until… A deity, a God, who came from a dimension unknown, swept upon the Earth and brought order. With one swipe of his hand, the chakras gained a solid body, a mind and consciousness. The nine beings turned their heads towards the powerful deity and called him their father. He was later known as Ootsutsuki Hagoromo.

Hagoromo rallied his creations and sent them out to restore the balance. Shukaku, a giant raccoon-like beast who sports a single tail, used his magnetic chakra nature to form a magnetic field around the earth to protect it from harmful debris floating in the void. Son Goku, a giant monkey who sports four tails, used his lava chakra nature and earth chakra nature to help his brother, Gyuki, shift the earth into a much stable state. Isobu, a giant turtle who sports three tails, flooded the earth to cool the lava down. Chomei, a large insect beast with seven tails, flapped her wings to release the wind chakra needed for breathing. The nine beasts worked together to form a habitable earth until Kurama, the one holding the Yin and Yang chakra natures, created the creatures to roam the earth and the living trees that will feed them. With the help of his other siblings, Kurama made the most advanced living thing they could make using their chakra, the humans.

It was then that Hagoromo explained to the beasts that the nine of them are equally important. That together, they would make wonders. Hagoromo himself was the manifestation of the different chakras, combining into one stable and powerful being. He explained that the humans are like him, beings made by stabilizing chakra and adding the chakra of life which is the Yang chakra, to form a coherent and self-conscious being. But unlike the humans, Hagoromo was a being made up of all chakras. This was not the only thing Hagoromo taught to the beasts. He taught them how to rule with order and balance, and then he asked the beasts to teach the things he taught them to the humans.

Hagoromo was happy, all he wanted was a stable and peaceful world, away from his troubled dimension. He ruled the Earth with the ten chakra beasts with order and compassion. Hagoromo soon joined the ranks of the humans and took a wife who bore him two sons. He lived a happy life, filled with love for his people, his wife and sons. Thus born the empire.

And then, he came… The God, Momoshiki, the ruler of the dimensions, the destroyer of worlds, the being carrying the tainted chakra which brings forth desires for destruction and chaos. He was Hagoromo's own father and his equal. Hagoromo had enough power to keep Momoshiki at bay and protect his beloved Earth, but when Hagoromo's brother, Kinshiki, and his passive brother Hamura joined forces with their father, they managed to enter the Earth and started a war lasting a decade.

Hagoromo had the help of his nine beasts and his loyal human subjects. They fought for their emperor and lived as immortal beings as their creator, Kurama, did not allow them to die. Hagoromo's forces were impregnable, but Momoshiki proved to be a good tactician. The evil God slowly poisoned the minds of Hagoromo's subjects and introduced them to the life of destruction. He opened the human's desire for worldly materials, lust and power. Soon, more humans turned their back on their emperor in favor for Momoshiki's rule. It was when Hagoromo's own son switched sides that Hagoromo finally broke down in heartbreak. In that one moment of weakness, Momoshiki swooped down and killed his son.

The nine beings were heartbroken by this. They grew disgusted by their own creation and fled into hiding, forever regretful that they allowed their master to die. Kurama sealed his own power to maintain life, making his creations mortal and thus the cycle of life and death on Earth began.

Hamura, Hagoromo's kinder brother, felt guilty for betraying his more powerful brother. Hagoromo was the one who protected him from their father, but because of his passiveness, he let his fear for their father weaken him. And so he plotted the assassination of his father. In one drunken night, he killed his younger brother, Kenshiki and stabbed his father. But before Momoshiki could die, he made a prophecy that he would come back and rule Earth once again.

Knowing that his father would really come back, Hamura took the void dagger and spoke another prophecy which states that the reincarnation of Hagoromo will return to stop their father once more and Hamura would also come back to right his wrongdoings. After his prophecy, he stabbed himself, ending the line of the original deities from the other dimension.

Asura took the crown as Emperor and tried to maintain order, but it proved to be harder than expected. He could not rule such a large continent by himself, and so he divided the lands into four and placed four Kings in those lands which included his brother Indra. He named the capital, Kodama, which later became Konoha after the third era. With this, the campaign for peace was made easier, but the damage had been done. Since then, the Earth fell into wars, rebellion and strife. The chakra who made them was abused and used as weapons of destruction, and the nine beasts watched on in silence.

But Asura's descendants remained faithful that one day, Hagoromo will come back stronger than ever, together with his brother, to once again bring order to Earth, just like what he did eons ago.

* * *

Hashirama smiled in content as he stood at his balcony overlooking his beloved capital. Hashirama is the 68th Emperor of the Elemental continent, the oldest and only empire to have ever ruled the world. He proudly watched the boisterous capital below him. It caused him great pleasure to see his beloved people happily moving about their lives after the rule of his cruel Grandfather, Hanzo. Now that he is the one sitting at the Golden throne and continuing his father's peaceful legacy, he vowed to keep his people safe from another war. He had strengthened his connections to the Kings of Kirigakure, Kumogakure, Sunagakure and Iwagakure. He earned their trust and showed them that he was a capable emperor who would not tolerate the Momoshiki worshippers and rebels.

But amidst this peacefulness, danger lurked about. In the far west, Hashirama can see smoke coming out of the mountains. A clear indication of a legion camping in the mountainous region. Hashirama silently applauded the troops for their silence. Nobody had detected the legion until this late afternoon when the smoke rose up to the skies. But his men are ever ready and prepared to defend immediately. This attack however was being kept a secret to the people. They had just come out of the traumatic rule his Grandfather forced them to endure and he did not want to cause mass panic. He trusted his army, they are the best in all the lands. The King of Kumogakure, the warmonger A, sent him his best troops to help the emperor with the growing amount of rebels.

He heard the door behind him. He turned to his three Imperial Generals who fell on their knees and bowed their heads.

"Hashirama-sama! Momoshiki worshipers spotted on the western outskirts!" A man with burnt pink hair shaped like a Sakura flower stated.

"Request to speak freely, Hashirama-sama!" A silver haired man requested, earning the side glance of his two other companions.

Hashirama smiled gently at this. "You have my permission, Hatake-kun."

The man named Hatake Sakumo raised his head. "I suggest you send my troops and dispatch them Hashirama-sama, and leave Haruno-san and Nara-san's troops to protect the Imperial city, just in case."

Nara Shikaku sighed at this. "Hate to admit this, but Sakumo-kun finally formed a tactic before me." He lazily commented and scratched the back of his neck.

Haruno Kizashi just chuckled at this. Hashirama, too, looked amused at the smug look Sakumo sent to the scarred General.

Hashirama nodded his head at the suggestion. "Well then, Sakumo-kun, send your troops to intercept the legion. Haruno-kun, patrol Konoha and the nearby villages. Nara-kun, patrol the tunnels and the sewers. I want zero casualties when it comes to the residents. The people are our upmost priority."

Kizashi snapped his head towards the emperor. "My liege! Who would protect you?"

Hashirama just waved off his General's worry. "Don't worry Haruno-kun, I can very well protect myself. The castle guards are enough for me."

The brunette emperor gave his Generals a pained smile. He made sure that the uncertainty blooming inside his heart was kept hidden.

"Make sure that the royal court is well protected. My daughters are my life, Haruno-kun." Hashirama added. An image of his two daughters flashed through his mind. He knows that his third and eldest daughter is safe wherever she might be.

"Yes, my Emperor." Kizashi bowed.

Hashirama turned to Shikaku this time. "Send a missive to the Kings, Daimyo's and the Shogun about the attack, Nara-kun." He then turned to Sakumo. "Hatake-kun… Protect Konoha with your life."

Sakumo bowed his head until his forehead touched the tatami. "I promise Hashirama-sama!"

Hashirama once again smiled in content. "I am blessed by Hagoromo-sama with such loyal subjects." His voice cracked at this but he collected himself. "You are dismissed."

With that, the three bowed their heads and left the room in a hurry. Hashirama was left standing in his balcony, hoping that his hunch was not true.

* * *

It had been hours since Hashirama saw his army leave the gates of the city. Now, he can see the growing cries of victory coming from the West. His people, who were just informed of the attack and their victorious counter joined in the cries of joy. He wanted them to remain calm, and calm they were. It showed how much they trust Hashirama's regime. Something that greatly pleased Hashirama.

The brunette Emperor bit his lip at the situation. For some reasons, why did this attack seem to be too easy to defeat. It was like no effort at all was placed on this attack. According to the missive Sakumo just sent him, only ten people from his army where killed from this attack. Too easy…

"Unless… My hunch is right… And that the Capital was not the one you're after at all…" Hashirama spoke out loud.

There was a prolonged silence before a rustle of silk was heard behind him.

"You're losing your touch, Hashirama. I was waiting for you to figure it out a lot sooner." A baritone voice echoed throughout the Emperor's room.

Hashirama turned his head and glared at the trespasser. "You're not welcome here."

"It hurts my heart just how cold you are to me, Hashirama. I am your friend."

"Was my friend. You lost the honor to call me that after the heinous acts you have done." Hashirama hissed.

The man in the shadows laughed gleefully. "Heinous acts? You are the one who took the woman I love." The man retorted with venom in his voice.

Hashirama fully faced the man, rage running through his veins. "You repeatedly took advantage of the poor girl! You killed her parents, locked her away and forced her to do your bidding! She came running to my arms shivering in fear, broken beyond repair!" He bellowed in anger. He unconsciously released his wood nature chakra, causing some of the wood furniture to creak, ready to follow their master's bidding.

"Yet you still took her to become your empress. She became pregnant with your babe and bore you an heiresses. Do you know how painful it is to see the woman you love bearing the children of your former best friend who exiled you? You disgraced Mito-chan's memories!" The man spat, leaving the shadows and into the light. The man was wearing tight black robes with a black cape on his back. Gold traditional embroidery littered the edges of the cape. His hair was as black as the night and his eyes equally so.

Hashirama's rage grew hearing his enemy say his beloved first wife's name. "Mito has nothing to do with this! If she were alive during the time we found her, she would have been equally horrified by the things you did to that woman and the other people you had murdered for your obsession!" Hashirama hissed and brought his hands to his chest in a cross motion. Veins of wood sprouted out of the furniture and tatami around him and hovered at his command.

"Kaguya-chan was everything to me. You would never understand the love I felt for her! I would kill anyone to have her! You took her and now I will end you! And I, Madara, will become emperor!"

With this, both men moved into action. Hashirama punched the air, willing the razor shard branches to fly towards Madara in great speed. He then stomped his feet, channeling chakra into the wooden tatami and more branches sprout up.

Madara took his katana out of its scabbard and slashed at some branches aiming towards him. He somersaulted to the side, avoiding two branches which pierced through the wooden floor. He quickly ran to the side, scaling up the wall to avoid more branches which pierced multiple furniture and vases. He concentrated his chakra to his right hand while he slashed one branch by his right and thrust his open hand towards Hashirama ejecting a glowing hot fireball.

Hashirama saw this attack coming and brought both hands up, forming a wooden wall, which burst into flames upon contact to Madara's attack. He then used the burning wood to counter attack and brought his hands forward in a thrusting motion, causing the wood to break into pieces and fly towards Madara's direction in a continuous array of attack.

The tapestries and the paper walls burst into flames as Madara ran sideways at the walls, avoiding the flaming darts. He touched the ground and zig zaged towards Hashirama, avoiding the attacks and jumped in front of Hashirama, ignoring some of the darts piercing his sides. With a war cry, he brought his sword down with the intent to kill.

Hashirama took the wakizashi hidden behind his robes and parried from below, causing Madara's katana to slide to the side. Hashirama used the momentum and brought his left hand at the hilt of his wakizashi and thrust it towards Madara. Madara dodged to the side and swung his right hand up. Hashirama twirled his wakizashi with the blunt side facing the length of his arm and the sharp side stopping Madara's katana. With a quick draw, Madara took his own wakizashi with his left arm and slashed towards Hashirama's belly.

Hashirama gasped and drew back, but the wakizashi carved a slash on his belly. His white and gold kimono soon turned red with blood in where Madara's blade pierced his skin. With a growl, Hashirama poured almost all of his chakra into his surroundings and released a barrage of attacks towards Madara.

Above Madara formed a wooden dragon, descending with its sharp mouth open to devour him. He jumped back, separating him from the equally injured Hashirama. The moment Madara's foot touched the ground, a spherical wall rose from it, trapping Madara inside. Channeling his chakra to his katana, causing it to burst into flames, he twirled slashing the sphere into half before kicking the top half and jump out of the sphere only to backflip again to dodge another wooden dragon. Madara planted his foot on the wall and concentrated his chakra to his mouth and blew a flaming dragon towards Hashirama.

Gasping from pain and running out of chakra, Hashirama planted his foot forward and his own wooden dragon flew from the ground meeting Madara's dragon, creating a small explosion. Using this as distraction, Hashirama planted his foot back and pushed himself forward with a wooden dragon and into the fire. Passing the fire, a confused Madara was impaled in the shoulders by the wakizashi and crashed into the wall. Veins wrapped around Madara's arms, impaling him to the wall.

Hashirama stood in front of the growling Madara, not caring if his room was on fire. His belly was bleeding and his hair and clothes were singed. He studied his enemy before him. Cuts littered Madara's body and his wakizashi was still embedded on the man's shoulder. The man's face contorted to a snarl. Once, this man was a boy who played with him during their hunts. A friend who teased him as he courted the woman he loved. A best friend who celebrated with him when he married said woman and was crowned emperor. He wondered when things turned for the worst. He lost his first wife, his second wife and now his best friend.

In the bottom of his heart, he could not kill the man he have come to love as a brother.

"Give up Madara… We trained together, grew up together. I know your moves and techniques. You know that my Wood Chakra nature is superior to your Fire Chakra nature…" Hashirama panted.

Out of nowhere, Madara started laughing maniacally. "Haha! That's where you're right Hashirama! Your Wood Chakra is superior to mine!" He stated gleefully.

Then Hashirama felt an intense pain located on his chest. Blood forcefully gushed out of his mouth. He slowly looked down and saw a branch protruding out of his chest. His eyes widened in disbelief.

"H-How-" Hashirama stuttered as air refused to enter his body. He could feel himself suffocating and drowning in his own blood.

Madara smirked and the veins holding him retreated as their Master slowly died. "You see…" He stopped for a while to pull the wakizashi embedded on his shoulders. "I can control more than one chakra nature. Something I learned only I can do when I joined the Momoshiki worshippers. They think I'm Momoshiki's reincarnation, but I prefer to be Hashirama's reincarnation who will bring order to this land."

Hashirama groaned and fell to his knees, blood gushing out of his mouth. Madara circled around him, marveling in his victory.

A gasp caught their attention. Amidst the burning room and destroyed shouji door was a child. Her white eyes wide in horror. Tears ran down from her eyes to her chubby cheeks. Behind her was the tell tale sound of footsteps and clanking of armor running towards the destroyed room.

"Chichihue?" The child called in confusion and disbelief. She rubbed her eyes, like she was trying to dispel the scene, but when she looked again, it was all true.

Hashirama's heart broke for his little girl, his beloved heiress that filled his life with love and sunshine. Fear of Madara hurting his child filled him. He saw Madara taking a step towards his angel and with all the remaining strength he could conjure, Hashirama wrapped his arms around Madara's torso.

"RUN HINATA! RUN!" Hashirama screamed, keeping Madara at bay.

Madara, who grew irritated, took his katana and planted the blade inside Hashirama's skull, killing him instantly.

The child, who saw her father die, trembled in horror and grief. Her father's lifeless eyes stared at her, his face frozen mid-sentence. The bad man kicked her father away and she hoped, waited, for her father to stand up and make the bad guy go away, but her father did not move, her father remained prone. Her father is gone. Unbeknownst to her, Kizashi and Shikaku arrived at the scene and gaped in horror.

The only thing that Hinata knew was that the bad man turned to her and an unfamiliar feeling ran through her being. Her mouth opened and a scream tore through her throat.

"CHICHIHUE!"

The fires covering the room turned purple and became erratic. Then an explosion occurred.

The people below watched in horror as they saw the emperor's room bursts into purple flames.

* * *

The people of the Elemental Continent grieved. Their benevolent Emperor was dead, assassinated. Their heiress had gone through a traumatic event. Rumor has it that the poor girl needs to live away from the palace for a while, for she suffers intense flashbacks of her father's death, that the poor girl's chakra goes haywire and burns everything she touches.

The King's assassin was said to be none other than the King's former best friend and Shogun, Uchiha Madara. Everyone knows who he is. He was once the Emperor's shadow and confidant. Six years ago, two years after the Empress' death, Madara was convicted for the rape of a woman who would later become the next Empress and the massacre of an entire village in Kumogakure. He was also found guilty of torturing peasants working in his manor. Hashirama later stripped Madara of everything he owned and exiled the Uchiha into the wastelands, where he would work in the mines for the rest of his life. Nobody expected the man to come back.

Hatake Kakashi sighed and sipped his tea. The teenager took a mochi and popped the rice cake inside his mouth. Just like his father, Kakashi has silver spiky hair, something that some of his peers in the academy found worth teasing. Kakashi folded his newspaper and observed his surroundings, everyone was wearing black yukatas or black casual attires. The flags and banners are black, everything is black. Even the citizens mood are as grim as black.

"I expected you to dye your hair black, Kakashi!" A voice called behind Kakashi.

He turned his head and frowned at the incoming teen and his girlfriend. Before him stood his frienemy, Obito, and another friend of his, Rin. Just like any other citizen of Konoha, the duo was wearing black too. Obito opted to wear a black leather jacket and black pants while his girlfriend was wearing a black Yukata with lily patterns.

"What are you doing in public, Obito?" Kakashi asked, watching the duo take a seat parallel to his.

Obito harrumphed. "Everyone knows that not all Uchiha's are related to that Monster. The Shogun, Sarutobi-sama, already issued a law protecting all Uchiha's aside from the Monster and those who are loyal to him. Lucky enough, I hated the man." He stated ruffling his short black hair.

"Sarutobi-sama will act as regent until Hinata-hime comes of age." Rin stated, patting her boyfriend's biceps.

Kakashi took another sip of his tea. "Tobirama-sama won't take the throne?" He asked remembering the traveling Duke and younger brother of their deceased Emperor.

Obito clicked his tongue. "Tsk, Tobirama-sama won't even return to Konoha. He blamed Hashirama-sama's security for his death. There is more to the story than that, but that's the only thing he said that was made public"

"How about Tsunade-hime?" Kakashi once again asked, although he had never seen the first child of the Emperor, who he had begotten from the first Empress. She left the capital in a young age to procure her passion in the arts of medicine. Nobody has ever heard from her again. Rumors circulated that she was mad at her father for remarrying.

Rin was the one who answered this time. "Tsunade-hime has no desire on being the Empress. She even sent the letter to the Emperor where the Emperor asked for her permission to crown Hinata-hime as the crowned princess. She said yes, of course. She loves her younger sister, they say."

Kakashi nodded. He took one last sip on his tea and sputtered remembering one acquaintance of his. "Itachi! What happened to Itachi!?" He asked. Uchiha Itachi is the teenage son of the Emperor's killer, Madara. After his father's exile, Itachi was taken under the protection of the Emperor and trained with Kakashi in the Academy. The boy was a prodigy, and was known for having the rare black flame chakra nature.

Obito waved his hand dismissingly. "He's fine. After being questioned by the shogun himself, he had proven that he held no loyalty towards his father. Itachi even admitted that his father had tortured him and let his men sexually assault the poor boy. Only the Emperor and Tobirama-sama knew this story." Obito shivered in rage. Anger directed at the man who had the audacity of being Itachi's father. "That was the only time I've ever seen him cry." He continued, shaking his head in sorrow.

Rin frowned, saddened by this news. "Maybe that's why Itachi-kun was so silent at school. Because he had to carry all of that horror for all of his life."

"Some are still skeptical of him though. I mean, I've seen people glare at me as I pass by, and that Monster named Madara is not even part of my immediate family!" Obito stated nonchalantly.

"How's your father by the way, Kakashi-kun?" Rin asked.

Kakashi sighed and ran one hand across his silver locks. "Devastated. Since the accident, he had done nothing but drown himself in sake." He closed his eyes and pictured his depressed father sitting by in their kitchen surround by bottles and bottles of sake. "He blamed himself for the Emperor's death. Said that he was supposed to die with emperor."

Obito frowned and took one mochi. "Your father is a loyal man. Give him a few weeks and he'll bounce right back to business. This is General Hatake Sakumo we're talking about."

But he didn't bounce back into business like Obito thought he would. A week later, Kakashi found his father hanging from their ceiling with a rope wrapped around his neck…

* * *

"A child should never go through what she had been through…"

She heard the whispers of her caretakers as they followed her around the compound. She walked aimlessly, her eyes devoid of any light. All she can know is that her beloved father is gone and the bad guy who took her father away from her is going to return and take her away too.

Tsunade watched her little sister walk back and forth around the compound. She sighed, hopelessly seeing the blank stare of little Hinata. It has been five months since the death of their father. Her sister has been in her care for five months too. The first night the little Princess arrived, she accidentally burned down half of the compound while having a nightmare. She didn't find comfort in Tsunade's arms much to Tsunade's dismay. The black haired girl refused to be touched or be presented with gifts. The girl also developed a phobia for shiny things. It is maybe because of the glint of the sword she saw being stabbed towards her father's head. Tsunade closed her eyes at the thought. She too mourns the loss of her father, but unlike Hinata, she was not there when he died, she did not see the whole ordeal take place.

"Tsunade-sama, do you think Hinata-hime will ever be cured?" Shizune, Tsunade's apprentice, asked.

"The only progress we had was controlling her chakra so she could not create more fires." One apprentice stated.

Tsunade sighed. "I don't care how long it takes but I would do my best to bring my shy and gentle sister back." She stated.

"Do you think she went insane?" Another woman asked Shizune.

Tsunade immediately sent them a glare. She stood up from her sitting position and tied her blonde hair behind her back. She slowly approached the pacing five year old girl and called her.

"Imouto-chan, are you bored? Do you wanna go to the village?" She gently asked.

Normally, the Hinata she knew would shyly nod her head and hug her knee and ask her Onee-sama to pick her up. But this Hinata just stared at her like she did not understand her at all.

Tsunade winced at the blank stare her sister is giving her. "I reckon you would like that."

It was then that she led her younger sister out of the compound and towards the village. This small village is located at the border of Kirigakure and Kumogakure. Such a remote village was the perfect escape for any famous people who wants some peace in their lives. Here the Senju compound was formed. Senju is the family name of Hashirama's mother. He originally made compound as a secret meeting place for the Kings of the four Provinces but ended up as Tsunade's hide out instead. This was not the first time Hinata had visited Tsunade though. Since her third birthday, Hinata was brought by her father to the compound to meet her older half-sister. Tsunade tried to hate the little girl, but when she saw the shy child peeking out behind her father, she fell in love with her. Tsunade knew that she also has another little sister who was also the cause of her step-mother's death but the child is deemed too young for travel.

Tsunade constantly turned her head towards her sister in case of something happening. The child walked straight, not even turning her head. For a moment she looked like a doll. Then she stopped. Tsunade turned her head to where Hinata was looking at. A kid, about Hinata's age, was selling a cage filled with bunnies.

"Hand caught bunnies for 500 ryo!" The kid bellowed cheerfully, prancing around showing the bunnies he probably caught all by himself.

Tsunade studied the boy, he was wearing a tattered shirt and pants and a busted sandal. He is carrying a burly sack on his back probably filled with baubles he is planning to sell. The boy is blond from what Tsunade can tell, but his hair was so dirty that it looked almost brown.

"Chichihue promised to bring me a rabbit for my birthday…"

Tsunade's eyes widened, hearing her sister speak for the very first time since she got there. Her words tug at Tsunade's heart. Here is a child whose father was taken away in front of her very eyes. It hurts Tsunade to think that her sister had to endure such horror in such a young age. It hurts Tsunade that she herself didn't get the chance to see her father for the last time and apologize for her stubbornness.

A single tear fell down from Hinata's eyes. One tear that broke Tsunade's heart. She immediately fell to her knees and embraced her sister, sobbing in grief. She had tried to hold on, be strong, but it just came to her now that her father is truly gone. Her father who loved his daughters so much, is gone forever. Tsunade will never see his father's wide smile again. She would never see her father beaming up to her as he presents a new gift for her that he thought she would like. She would never see her father show her new sister who she would come to love. She would never see her father kiss her forehead and swat him saying that she's too old for kisses. And this child in her arms would never know what it would be like growing up with a father.

"Hey you big boobied Lady! What are you doing to the little girl!?" A young voice called her.

Tsunade let go of her equally sobbing sister and saw the boy they had been watching was approaching them. She wiped her tears and glared at the boy.

"What did you call me brat?" She playfully spat.

The boy did not take her playful tone nicely though and glared at Tsunade. "What are doing making this cute girl cry!? My Mama always says to never make girls cry! Especially cute ones!"

Tsunade was amused and just raised her hand in surrender. Best humor this questionably well raised kid who knows that he shouldn't make cute girls cry but did not know how to respect his elders.

The boy turned towards Hinata and gave her a wide toothed grin. "Don't cry now! What's the matter? Did big boobs here took something away from you?" he asked causing Tsunade to narrow her eyes at her nickname.

Hinata just sobbed. "My chichihue is gone." Her head bowed down.

The boy frowned at this and looked around for a solution. He then clapped his hand and walked back to the cage he was attending and opened the cage. He took the smallest bunny he could find which was a white one. He ran towards the Hinata and present her the wriggling baby bunny.

"Here! This will make you feel better! Whenever you miss your father, you could tell this bunny about the happy memories you shared with him! This way, you will remember the good times you spent with you father and be happy!" The boy stated, beaming in joy.

Tsunade shook her head at the child's simple mindedness. She hoped that she could be as innocent as this child. But a simple bunny cannot erase the fact that their father is gone and Hinata is left alone to rule an empire.

But to Hinata, who raised her head and saw the boy's smile and his sparkling blue eyes, his words meant everything. She stared at the bunny peering up at her. She could tell this bunny about the games she played with her chichihue. And maybe, her chichihue will hear her.

"Those who are gone never truly left. They watch over you and keep you safe. That's what my Momma said." The boy stated with a gentle smile.

Hinata took the bunny from the boy's hands and cuddled the bunny. The nightmares might never go away, but she could tell the bunny of the good times she spent with her chichihue and maybe he would chase the nightmares away. Maybe bunny would chase the bad man away too.

"Bunny would protect my family from the bad man right?" Hinata asked the boy, hoping for a good answer.

Tsunade was taken aback. She never thought that Hinata might have had a lingering fear towards her father's killer. Now that she thought about it, Hinata's but a child. She was probably not horrified by the blood and carnage she saw, she had no inkling to what those were. She was probably more afraid at the fact that Madara took her father away permanently. And that she is probably afraid that Madara would take her, and her loved ones away next.

The boy nodded his head. "Yup! And if bunny's not enough! I'll come and protect your loved ones! And-and-and then! We would both protect everyone-ttebayo!" the boy gave Hinata a thumbs up.

Hinata smiled and held her bunny closer to her. She bowed her head and smiled up to her sister who was tearing up at the sight of Hinata's smile. Later down the road, Hinata would realized that it was not the bunny who saved her. But it was his smile… His smile saved her.

* * *

AN: Hello there! This is my new fanfic! The question is, what happened to Will of Fire? As you guys know, I was just using another person's laptop during the time i was writing it. Unfortunately, he already took the laptop. I had to wait for my laptop to be fixed. Unfortunately when i got my laptop back, all of my docs for The Kitsune's Yakuza was gone. And then writer's block bit me hard on my bum.

I hope you will like this new fanfic and i will try my best to update my other two fanfics. I hope the plot bunnies will visit me soon.

A big thank you to my beta gio08 who brainstormed with me in the making of this plot. You could say that he is the co-author of this fic. We have so many things to show you and this might be my favorite project yet! I love the thought of Hinata being an Empress very much!

 _Chichihue_ \- It means Father. It is the most respectful way you can call your father.

To make things clear. Hashirama married two times. First was Mito. He had a daughter with Mito, Tsunade, before Mito died. Years later, he remarried to Kaguya whom he had two daughters with. Kaguya too is dead after the birth of the youngest daughter.


	2. Chapter 1

Many years after the Emperor's assassination passed. The Empire waited for their Empress to sit on her throne and rule. And when she did, the Empire prospered in her hands. Just like her father before her, she ruled with benevolence and kindness. But everyone knew just how cruel and heartless she could be to those who wronged her people. Under her command, the Nine Saints were born. Nine generals who ran her ever growing army. Slowly, but surely, they countered the Momoshiki worshipper's armies and defeated them. Her goal? Find her father's killer and protect the peace in her Empire.

But she knew that Madara was just waiting. Waiting for the day that she would show weakness. Waiting for the time for him to snatch the crown from her head and declare himself Emperor. She would not allow that, not while she still lived.

People started whispering, started speculating, about their Lady. People whispered that she may be Hagoromo's reincarnation, destined to fight the infamous Madara, who might also be Momoshiki's reincarnation. If this was true, then the end was in sight. For they know the other half of Hamada's prophecy. Because before Hamada impaled himself with his father's sword, his disciples asked on what will happen when the two God's will meet again. Hamada, who was said to have the eyes of a seer, hesitated and closed his eyes, for he can't see the future beyond the one he had foretold.

It was then known that when the two God's meet in battle, the end will begin. A future of uncertainty…

* * *

"What will happen next Grandfather?" a boy asked, scooting closer to his elderly relative.

"No one knows child. But one thing is for certain, the Lady Empress is not Hagoromo's reincarnation."

The children gasped. One girl who was shivering under her blanket, skittered out of her comfortable position and crawled towards the elderly man telling the story in the corner of the caravan.

"Then who is?" She asked.

The elderly man chuckled and scratched his beard. "That I don't know child. He or She might be out there, also bidding his time to attack Madara and save the world."

Another boy grinned at this. "Like a hero then!" he exclaimed.

On the other corner of the moving caravan, one man huddled in his cloak, smiled at the children's enthusiasm. Children, such innocent little beings, ones that should be protected and cared by their parents. He smiled, looking at the girl, who crawled back to her mother's side, who welcomed her in a warm embrace. Suddenly, the familiar feeling of longing spread in the man's heart. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the face of his mom. Her luscious long red hair and beautiful violet gray eyes. He smiled at the feeling of warmth in his heart that only his mother would make him feel.

"You have a specific destination in mind young man?" A voice broke through his reminiscing.

He turned his head to a hooded figure who plopped down beside him. He raised one golden eyebrow and scooted away from the stranger.

"I'm a drifter, I have no destination in sight." He answered with a smirk.

The man took off his hood and smirked back at him. The man has dark skin and equally dark eyes and hair. He wore a white yukata with bamboo designs as seen beneath his leather cloak.

"I'm Kidomaru. It is nice to meet a fellow drifter on the road." He stated, offering a hand.

The other drifter, took off his hood, revealing a golden mane and blue eyes. The first thing that Kidomaru noticed though was the drifter's six birthmark-like scars on each cheek.

"Naruto." The drifter took Kidomaru's hand and shook it with a grin.

"So, Naruto, what brings you to this caravan?" Kidomaru asked, taking out a bottle of sake from his backpack and offered another bottle to the blond.

Naruto took the bottle and did not bother to pour the contents in a choko and immediately drowned a considerable amount of sake.

"Only caravan to leave Sunagakure with an escort. I rather pay a few ryos than to go through the borders alone with the possibility of Momoshiki worshippers greeting me the moment I wake up." Naruto explained before cringing at the sake's burn. Good thing that he has a high alcohol tolerance.

Kidomaru smirked. He poured his own sake on his wooden choko and took a sip. "Good thing to know I was not alone. The amount of rebels are growing in size eh? Soon, they'll be unstoppable." Kidomaru paused for a while before continuing. "Did you know about the rumors that this caravan carries gold?"

Naruto raised a brow at this but said nothing. Kidomaru took this as a sign that Naruto wanted to hear more.

"Rumors said that one of the passengers carries the tribute from the Sunagakure's King to be given to the Empress." Kidomaru whispered.

Naruto chuckled. "What's the point of hiding such a wealth in this caravan? Especially when a mere drifter like yourself knows of such knowledge."

He just took a swig of his bottle and watched the evening sky. He ignored Kidomaru's stare and ultimately stopped talking to the black haired man.

Naruto's used to talking to strangers. He met different kinds of people during his travels. But none of those people felt as suspicious as Kidomaru.

Silence slowly engulfed the caravan as its occupants slowly drifted to sleep, being swayed by the caravan's movement. The clopping of the horses became their lullaby. Soon, Naruto too drifted to the world of unconsciousness.

* * *

The caravan lurched into a stop. Naruto almost tumbled down from his sitting position. He opened his eyes and winced as he massaged his neck. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that it was morning already and that the caravan had stopped.

"What happened?" One woman asked.

"Why did we stop?" Another one asked.

Naruto opened the flap that somebody had closed during the night and saw that they were not out of the woods yet. He was about to jump down the Caravan when he heard the gurgling sound of someone choking.

"WHERE IS THE TRIBUTE!?" Someone shouted causing the people to gasp.

In a matter of seconds, one cloaked woman stood up and jumped out of the Caravan right past Naruto. Before Naruto could react, the woman landed on solid ground and the earth clamped down on her calves, breaking her legs. A horrific scream tore from her lungs causing the other passengers to be alarmed.

Katanas tore through the sheets covering the caravan. It happened so fast that most of the passengers were frozen in their places. The raiders wore black cloaks with a distinct silver crescent moon embroidery behind their backs. They wore black mouth covers and black samurai armor. One woman screamed in horror but was silenced with a quick stab of one of the raiders. The children cried in horror at this. The old man who was telling stories during the night covered the children with his cloak, covering them from the obvious slaughter that was about to take place. Naruto's own hand flew to the tachi on his hip but was stopped by a voice.

"Now, now, everyone stay in their positions or the children will be the first ones to die."

Naruto saw Kidomaru smirking smugly at them. Naruto gritted his teeth in anger. He observed his surroundings. He can see the dead body of the coachman clumped on his seat. It seems that the horses had been killed together with the samurai sent to escort them. He glared at Kidomaru… the bastard was part of this.

Kidomaru jumped out of the torn caravan and walked towards the groaning woman who had been separated from her quarter half. He took out his katana and slashed off the cloak of the woman. Behind her, dangling on her hip, was a small chest. And in one horrific move, the black haired raider thrusts his sword to the woman's head, killing her before kneeling down and tugging the chest off of her.

Naruto's being shook in rage, hearing the frightened whimpers of the children behind him. He remained immobile in fear that one of the raiders might attack the children and the elderly if he so much as move.

"Knowing Sunagakure's riches, this must contain their famous sand diamonds." Kidomaru smirked as he shook the small chest.

"Let's leave Kidomaru-san. I feel a shift in the wind." One raider said.

Kidomaru stopped shaking the chest and planted his foot forward, feeling the earth. "Yes, I can feel rumbles. Horses riding from the east."

"Did the capital caught a gist of our heist?" Another cloaked figure asked.

"Let's move. Kill the others and take the children. Madara-kami will be most pleased about this." Kidomaru smirked.

Hearing the order, a terrified man tried to leave but one raider released a yellow orb that flew through the man's body. Slowly, the water on the man's body evaporated leaving a dehydrated corpse behind.

Without preamble, Naruto took his Tachi and blew air from his mouth which caused a huge gust knocking most of the Raiders off of their feet.

"Run!" He shouted.

The old man was the first one who obeyed and willed the children to run followed by the last remaining adults.

Kidomaru was up on his feet in a second. He slashed his sword and three spider like earth formations flew out of the ground and towards Naruto. The earth spiders curled up and harden like stone, flying towards Naruto in a fast speed.

Naruto somersaulted back, avoiding one flying spider, which created an impact where Naruto was standing just moments before. He dodge the second spider and third one. When the dust cleared out, much to Naruto's amazement, the spiders lodged themselves three feet deep into the earth. He gulped at the thought of being hit by one of those spiders.

"Nice dodging skills Naruto-kun." Kidomaru remarked. He faced his still shaken companions and jerk his head to the direction where the children ran. "Get the children, I'll deal with this blond."

The men bowed their heads and used their chakra natures to chase the escapees. Naruto gritted his teeth and attempted to chase them. He jumped unto one of the men who was using his wind nature chakra to enhance his speed. Using the same technique, Naruto caught up to the man and promptly stabbed the man from the behind. Both tumbled to the ground. Naruto stood up and pulled his Tachi out of the body just in time to slash a boulder away from him.

Kidomaru placed both hands on the ground and the earth divided into two. A chasm was made with Naruto in between the towering walls of earth. The earth clamped down on Naruto, sandwiching the blond. Kidomaru smirked at his apparent victory but was disappointed when an unharmed Naruto flew out of the earth with two swirling tornadoes at his feet.

Naruto's tornadoes disappeared and the blond started to fall. Using his tachi, he sliced and X on the air causing two shockwave like slashes to appear, flying towards Kidomaru. He landed on his foot and knee just in time to see Kidomaru dodge the slashes which cleaved the trees behind him into pieces.

Kidomaru winced and look down to see a graze on his thigh, it seemed that Naruto's attack completely ripped off his cloak and grazed his thigh open.

Using Kidomaru's distraction, Naruto gathered the wind on his foot with the intention of dashing towards his opponent. He also gathered wind chakra on his left palm and manipulated it to swirl on a patterned axis. He concentrated so much wind chakra on his hand that the chakra glowed bright orange. This technique was taught to him by his mother before she disappeared and left him to fend for himself.

With one push, Naruto dashed towards his opponent with a battle cry. Kidomaru tried to create a wall of earth but Naruto just broke through the wall.

"Taste this you fucker!" Naruto shouted before pushing the swirling mass into Kidomaru's chest.

"AARGHK!" Kidomaru sputtered blood.

The cracking sounds of Kidomaru's ribs breaking could be heard throughout the forest as one mighty push sent Kidomaru sailing ten meters back. Naruto stood there breathing hard as he staggered back, falling to his bum in exhaustion. A thick cloud of dust accumulated around where Kidomaru must have landed. Naruto thought of the children and pushed himself to his feet. It had been a while since he had a decent fight and the sudden use of a generous amount of chakra took its toll on his body.

He slowly staggered towards the direction where the children might be not knowing that someone was watching him. Hiding on the bushes is one of the raiders. She was bidding her time. She did not expect Kidomaru, one of the decent fighters of the cult to be defeated so easily. So she diverted her path and hid herself behind the bushes, waiting for her time to strike. This man is too skilled to be left alive. What if he was a guard from the capital!? Seeing her opening, she cupped her hands together and the temperature around her dropped. She pushed both hands forwards and an ice dagger flew from her chakra coated palms.

Naruto heard a wheezing sound causing him to jerk his head to the direction of the sound. His eyes widened, seeing the fast moving object flying his way. He tried to dodge sideways, but the trajectory was too fast. Blinding pain erupted from his arm as the ice dagger cleaved his arm off. The dagger detached his arm just below his elbow. The pain was so blinding that he didn't notice himself screaming in pain.

The woman smirked at her accomplishment. She ran out of her bush and took her dagger out to finish the job. She watched the blond fall down the ground clutching his amputated right arm. She stood over the withering blond and was about to stab him when the familiar blare stopped her from her tracks. She knew that sound. That was the sound of the Imperial horn! She immediately fell back and ran for safety, not caring if she didn't kill her target. She took the chest that was thrown away during the fight and retreated.

Naruto clung to his bleeding hand as the pain persisted. The pain was so intense that he could feel himself going in and out of consciousness. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was seeing horses galloping towards him. And on top of the horses were armed warriors in black armor.

* * *

"Sir! Two injured men sir. One has his entire ribs broken and the other had his arm cut off. Both are still alive." The soldier reported.

Kakashi eyed the whole scene before him. It was like a whole war had taken place. Trees are mangled, the earth is deformed. He concluded that one of the two must have an Earth chakra nature. He studied on tree stump which was cut cleanly into halves and concluded that the other has a Wind chakra nature.

"Which is the Momoshiki worshipper?" The silver haired man asked.

"W-We don't know Sir. Both wear ordinary traveling yukata, Sir. Both are not wearing the traditional black cloaks that the Momoshiki worshippers wore. A-And we have no one to ask who is who sir." The soldier looked sheepish.

Kakashi raised a brow at this. "The others are dead aren't they, Kotetsu-kun. You didn't leave one witness yet again."

The man named Kotetsu sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. "Well, when we saw what they did to the adults and two of the kids, we were so angry that we didn't leave survivors."

Kakashi himself felt anger at this, but not towards kotetsu or the others. If only they were fast enough. They could have save those innocent passengers in the Caravan.

"Are the remaining children okay?" He asked.

Kotetsu nodded his head. "Yes, but the children are hysterical. They had been traumatized enough."

Kakashi sighed. "Keep them safe and warm. Make sure that the priest and priestesses at the temples in Konoha will take good care of them. In fact, the Empress might want to see to them herself."

Kotetsu bowed his head and was about to leave but hesitated. "Wh-what about the two males Sir?" he asked.

The silver haired man remained silent and shifted his sight to the males in question. The black haired one was being carried by two soldiers to the horse and the blond one was still being treated, they had to make sure that his stump would not get infected.

"Both of them are Momoshiki officers for now." He stated and turned towards his horse.

A man riding a sleek black horse galloped right beside Kakashi. The man was wearing an intricate eye cover made of steel and his dark hair is sleeked back. He is wearing a long black and gold robe with the kanji saying "Fifth Saint" on its back. The man was also holding his bloodied katana and cleaned the katana with his robe as the horse moved to a mere trot.

"Kakashi-san, I'm so glad you came with my troops, why? Because they would have not left anyone alive if you were not here." The man unemotionally stated.

Kakashi smirked at this. "I didn't expect that the rumors about your men are true, Shino-kun." The fifth saint, Aburame Shino, leads the troop known as the killer wasps, who leave no life unturned when he is dispatched. "I must say, what was the Empress thinking when she dispatched you? No offence."

"A massacre, Kakashi-sama. Kōgō Heika has this dark side that we all know of. That is why she allowed you to accompany us, she knows that my men would be… uhmmm…. Too shy to kill too much in front of her majesty's royal advisor." Shino stated.

Kakashi bursts into laughter and patted his mare's head as he mounts her.

* * *

"S-Sakura-sama! We can't just barge into the meeting without consent from the Empress!" A balding man called towards the stomping warrior in front of him. They were currently walking their way through the halls of the Palace towards the hall of the Kings, where the current meeting between the four Provinces' and the Empress takes place.

The pink haired General, who was dressed in her full crimson samurai armor, ignored her advisor and continued storming her way through busy servants and members of the court. Her green eyes glittered with irritation and rage. She is Haruno Sakura, the only daughter of the former General Haruno Kizashi. At a young age, she had mastered the arts of Earth chakra manipulation through her father's training. She was not a goal driven woman before though. Before the Emperor's death, Sakura was like any other girl who preferred frills and ribbons instead of bows and swords. One eventful night though, four months after the Emperor's death, Kizashi came home injured and near-death. During that time, the Momoshiki worshippers were at its peak because no Emperor sat on the throne. There had been frequent ambushes and Kizashi happened to fall into one. Seeing her father bleeding and later finding out that he would never walk again, Sakura set out to follow on his tracks with vengeance. She sought out Princess Tsunade and entered on an apprenticeship under her. And now she is the medic and earth master of the Saints.

"It seems that you're heading right we're heading, Sakura-chan." A man appeared from one of the corridor's intersection and joined Sakura in her stroll. He too is wearing a bulky brown samurai armor. His equally brown hair and eyes shimmered in mirth.

"Don't get in my way, Kiba." Sakura hissed without turning her head.

Inuzuka Kiba is the youngest son of the former Court Lady of the deceased Empress Senju Mito. He was born with a silver spoon on his mouth and received the finest training in Earth Chakra manipulating. He thought he was the best until Aburame Shino came into the Academy and trumped his Earth Chakra manipulating skills. His insecurity grows each day as he watched Shino top the list and grew worse as Sakura came into the picture with her perfect manipulation of their element. Heartbroken, he was later comforted by his own rival Shino and was given a puppy as a gift. He later trained the puppy and much to his shock, he was able to teach the animal how to manipulate earth chakra, confirming that all animals are created the same way as humans who were created by the Nine holy beasts, only that humans have higher a intelligence. Kiba became the first ever human to have trained an animal and is now the head of a squad filled with humans and their animal partners.

Another woman came out of another intersection and joined the two. Unlike the two though, she was wearing an elaborate kimono and a fan is covering half of her face. She has long blonde platinum hair tied in a ponytail and aquamarine eyes. She is Yamanaka Ino, the daughter of Empress Kaguya's main servant. Ino was in fact the current Empress' former servant. During the Empress's breakdown after Emperor Hashirama's death where she was sent to her elder sister Princess Tsunade, Ino was sent to the secret manor too. During their stay, the current Empress allowed Ino to train under Princess Tsunade after the Empress saw her potential. Later she met Sakura and became good friends with her. She, Sakura and the Empress shares a strong bond of friendship.

"Don't tease Sakura too much Kiba or you'll taste her fists before you could get to the hall." The woman commented. Although there's teasing in her voice, she too sported a rather serious expression.

Sakura scoffed at this. "For once you are on my side, pig?" She teased.

Ino smirked and fluttered her eyes prettily. "Don't get used to it, billboard brow. This is a one-time thing, Kiba annoys me too."

The brunette haired male just sucked on his overgrown canines and frowned at the ladies. "You two are meanies!" He playfully whined.

The balding advisor of Sakura's swallowed the lump on his throat as he fell behind the group. He could believe that he was in the presence of three of the Nine Saints. The whisperer of the Wilds, Inuzuka Kiba, was walking next to his Mistress and the thorny beauty, Yamanaka Ino. He was new to his job, after the short tempered General, Haruno Sakura, blasted her last advisor to oblivion. He didn't expect to meet the rest of the generals in his whole lifetime! The saints rarely stay at one place, most of them goes from one Imperial settlement to another. But it seems since the rumors that the Momoshiki worshippers are growing in number every day, the saints have been taking frequent trips to the Imperial city of Konoha.

Much to the old man's awe, another person joined their forming group.

"Is this how youngin's do entrances now a days? Looking so intimidating like you're going to a war?" The man lazily asked causing Ino to glare at the male from behind her flapping fan.

"What took you so long Shikamaru?" She narrowed her eyes at the male.

"I overslept." The male deadpanned and tug at his yukata. Nara Shikamaru is the only son and successor of Nara Shikaku. Like his father, he sports a pineapple like hairstyle and looks as lazy as him. But the male also inherited his father's intellect and taste for battle tactics.

"Man!" Kiba threw an arm around Shikamaru's neck causing the said male to grumble about it being so heavy. "Did you happen to see Shino on your way here?" Kiba asked.

"No, but I saw Chouji at the Kitchens." The pineapple head answered unhelpfully.

"Will you both shut up!?" Sakura hissed and quicken her pace.

Shikamaru sent Kiba and accusing gaze but the brown haired boy quickly shook his head as to say that he had nothing to do with the pink headed woman's anger.

They soon arrived to the Hall's enormous double doors. Much to their surprise, three individuals are waiting for them outside.

On the right is a man wearing a green Karate gi. He has a bowl cut hairstyle that seems to be well kept considering the shine it emits. When the male saw them though, the smile that he gave blinded the shine of his hair. He is Rock Lee. He is an inspiration to all children born with a defect. Rock Lee was conceived through an incestuous relationship which resulted on a child who has little to no chakra. The healers said that Rock Lee would not live long pass his teenage years. He was cast out by the clan he was born on and was adopted by Emperor Hashirama's Martial Arts Master, Gai. Gai was heartbroken seeing the boy who believes that he is going to die soon. But his heart was captured when that boy told him that he is going to live life to the fullest and would great death with open arms. Gai pleaded to the Emperor to allow the scholars to conduct research to find ways to save his adopted son. Emperor Hashirama agreed and they found out that the only way to ensure that Rock Lee will live long enough past adulthood is for the boy to preserve his little chakra. Since then, Gai trained the boy and made a new kind of martial art where chakra would not be drawn at all. Rock Lee was the first person who mastered the art and made his way to the top of the army with only his stamina, dexterity, strength and determination at hand.

On the middle is a stoic man with brunette long hair. He is wearing a white cloak with the royal emblem behind his back. His handsome face seems to be painted in a permanent scowl. He is Hyuga Neji, the only survivor of the Hyuga Clan, which was the Clan where deceased Empress Kaguya came from. He was the nephew of the Empress and was still a newborn baby when the family were massacred by Madara after they refused to give their beautiful flower and heiress, Kaguya. He only survived after his mother hid him inside a chest which the Imperial army later found. When Kaguya was rescued by the Imperial army about two and a half years later, Kaguya recognized her nephew and took care of him. He sees the Empress as his sister and vowed to her dead aunt that he would take care of her daughters.

On the left is a beautiful young lady wearing a pink Kendogi. Her brunette hair was braided on the sides and was tied in a bun from behind. She smiled at the upcoming group and was the one who greeted them. She is Tenten, a woman who came from a merchant's family and proved to be strongest woman in her batch back inside the academy. Tenten's family was against with her entering the academy and later the Imperial Army. Unknown to Tenten, her family were Momoshiki worshippers and she was later sold to one of the higher ups of the cult where she was met many kinds of abuse. She faced many horrors in her young life, horrors that haunts till this very day. When she was rescued by the Imperial army, she was given the choice on what to do with her life. She chose to enter the academy to avenge her stolen youth. She is known to be a risk taker and headstrong. Her reason? She has nothing left to lose.

"We were waiting for you! The meeting had already started." The woman smiled.

"There is strength in numbers, my friends! Such youthful acts should be shared together!" The one with the bowl cut passionately stated while bouncing on the soles of his feet.

Kiba blanched. "Why are you guys here? I thought you are currently stationed in Kirigakure, Neji?" He pointed towards the long haired brunette male who scowled.

"Show some respect, Kiba! And besides, you guys are not the only ones who has news for Heika." The brunette female beamed.

"So many good news! My being burns with so much excitement!" The bowl haired male exclaimed jumping up and down while pumping his fists.

Kiba frowned. "What news? And where the heck is Shino!?" He exclaimed looking around for his close friend.

Ino just flipped her hair and shot Kiba a smug look. "That's what you get for spending too much time in the red light district. You missed all the fun."

Sakura's overwhelmed advisor stuttered out a question. "G-Ge-Ge-Generals? I-Is i-it ne-necess-sary f-for y-you to interrupt this im-important m-meeting?"

All generals shot the old man an odd look like they just noticed his presence for the first time since they came there.

"I'm sorry I am late!" A large man in a red yukata came running in. In his arms are mochis impaled on sticks.

"What took you so long?" Shikamaru asked his close friend.

"Shino-kun and Kakashi-sama are about to enter the borders. I had to send a missive to open the gates for them. I also had to prepare the special dungeons. It seems that they brought prisoners." Chouji explained handing each of his fellow Generals their own mochi but profusely apologized to Sakura's advisor because he did not bring anything for him.

"Shino was sent on a mission? And he let someone live!?" Kiba exclaimed in shock. He placed his hand over his mouth and made an 'ooooooooooouuuuu' sound.

Neji just rolled his eyes. "I think that's enough news for now. Let's go inside and relieve our Empress from the council and the Kings."

With that, the double doors opened revealing a huge hall with a U shaped table on the center. On the open end of the table is a stage where golden drapes hid the woman inside. Only her silhouette could be seen. Sitting around the table are elegantly dressed people bickering like small children. The argument was so intense that they didn't notice the new comers who just entered the hall.

* * *

"The Empire needs an heir! We don't know how things will go during this war. Our spare is but a child, we cannot leave the throne empty if the Empress dies!" A tiny old man with a balding head argued.

A golden haired man sighed in defeat. This is the third time the balding old tiny man had said that argument. He scratched the back of his head and shot the silver haired man beside him an exasperated look.

The golden haired man observed the currently babbling King across him. The old man is the King of Iwagakure, Onoki. He is known to be the most powerful man who has a Earth chakra nature. The old man was supposedly the one who rebelled against Emperor Hanzo during his reign. Even though the old man is balding and tiny, his power is evident by the amount of chakra he was emitting.

"I don't think it would be a good idea for you to talk like that in her majesty's presence, Old man Onoki." The silver haired man beside the blond stated with a smirk.

"Control your servant, Minato-kun! His tongue will get him killed someday!" Onoki hissed towards the blond.

Minato raised a brow towards his companion and right hand. His name is Jiraiya and he was A's, Minato's grandfather's, most trusted men. When A retired and decided to make his grandson the King of Kumogakure, A assigned Jiraiya to be the young man's advisor. Now, Jiraiya was almost equal to his King and Minato looks up to him like his own father. Minato only trusts three men in his life: Jiraiya, his grandfather A, and granduncle B who looks like he had never aged.

"I let Jiraiya-sensei speak what is on his mind, Onoki-sama. As long as the Empress doesn't mind." He stated facing the drapes where the Empress is hidden.

"I don't mind Minato-sama." A soft voice came out from the drapes.

Jiraiya shot Onoki a smug look, causing the old man's blood to boil. He swore that the King's already red nose further redden at this.

One of the elders sitting on the sides of the Empress cleared her throat. The elder is Utatane Koharu and she has been part of the Imperial council since Emperor Hanzo's rule. She has seen Hanzo's downfall and Hashirama's efforts to restore the Empire after that. Beside her is the ever quiet Shogun, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who is calmly drinking his tea, and like the Empress, pretending that he could not hear the discussion.

"Back to the matter at hand. Heika, what do you think of this proposition?" Koharu asked the hidden Empress.

There was no answer from the young empress thus opening the topic for discussion.

"Perhaps you could court the Empress, Minato-sama. You are a very good looking man and still without a consort and an heir." One of the elderly women stated, causing Jiraiya to chuckle in mirth.

Minato though just sweat dropped at this and dismissed the thought with a hand. "I am twice the age of the Empress. I would like to pass at that offer." He reasoned. But there is a deeper story than that.

Minato was still not over the woman who took his heart. She was the only woman he could ever love. Her disappearance greatly pained him and had since then closed off his heart. He was still hoping that he'll find the beautiful fiery woman of his dreams.

"Perhaps the currently absent King of Sunagakure would be willing to court the Empress." Onoki stated.

Minato thought of the young and aloof King of Sunagakure, Subaku no Gaara. The young King had only attended the meetings thrice since his inauguration. Mostly because he had been busy straightening out the Kingdom that the man's father neglected during his reign. The man, as Minato remembered, was handsome and elegant. Maybe the Empress would take interest in him. But Minato doubted it, the Empress has been too focused on her campaigns against the Momoshiki worshippers to even care about romance. He just wished that the council would just drop this issue all together and let the girl rule in peace.

"Wasn't he already courting our Empress? He has been sending her jewels." Mitokado Homura, one of the elders, stated.

"Fool, those were his tributes to her. I say, Sasuke-sama should be the Empress's main suitor." Shimura Danzo, the infamous right hand of Emperor Hanzo during his reign, stated causing everyone to whip their heads towards the King who was silently observing them this whole time.

The mysterious and elusive King of Kirigakure, Sasuke, is the adopted son of the dowager Queen of Kirigakure. He was proclaimed King in a young age and proved to be a King to behold. Rumors had it that the King developed a close friendship with the Empress and some would even say that they are secretly in love.

"What do you think, Sasuke-kun?" Onoki asked sipping his wine.

The black haired handsome man sighed. "I believe that the Empress should choose her own consort when she is ready." He stated standing up to leave the room, only to stop at the sight of the group at entrance. It was the particular pink haired beauty who made him stop dead on his tracks.

The others seemed to have notice the group too.

"How dare you intrude in this private meeting!" Danzo shouted. Koharu also looked scandalized.

"We bring news for the Empress." Sakura stated.

"We are not do-" Danzo was not able to continue as the soft voice of their Empress engulfed the room.

"What is this urgent news, Sakura-san?"

In a flash, the eight saints kneeled down in front of the Empress.

It was Neji, the first Saint and defacto leader who spoke. "Shino-san left with Kakashi-sama earlier this morning to intercept an ambush to be made towards a caravan heading towards the Imperial city from Sunakagure. The said caravan contained the tribute from Gaara Denka." Of course, the Empress already knew this. But the gasps heard from the council and the Kings made Neji's recap reach its desired effect.

Chouji continued the report as he was the one who had received Shino's missive earlier. "They had successfully eliminated the worshippers but casualties had been made. They arrived too late and managed to rescue only a couple of children." The room's temperature rose up and some of the lamp's flames turned purple indicating that the Empress was terribly upset with this. Chouji however continued his report. "They managed to bring two prisoners and one is suspected to be a high ranked Momoshiki worshipper. Kakashi-sama requested that her majesty will see to the interrogation." He finished.

Before any of the Kings or Council members could react. Tenten spoke about her report.

"We also bring news from the settlement in Kirigakure. Thanks to Sasuke Denka's permission." She turned her head to bow at the said King. "We are able to gather Intel on a local rumor which proved to be essential to us. No- not only to us but the whole world."

Gasps where heard and Sasuke could not resist any further and asked. "What is this?"

Tenten raised her head. "A woman once live on the small village of Uzu and she was born with the sight. Before her disappearance, she had told her relatives that the babe she was carrying… Is the reincarnation of Hagoromo-kami."

As soon as Tenten finished, a flurry of murmurs engulfed the room.

* * *

Naruto felt like floating in darkness. It was not completely empty though. He could feel the breeze of the wind, smell the steam coming from somewhere, feel the dust on his skin, feel the temperature going up, hear the flickering of fire, hear the swooshing of the wave, he can feel the humidity rising, the familiar pull that he could not explain, he felt the moisture in the air, the wild feeling of the storm inside him, the cracking of wood moving, the feeling of the void, and the call of life.

He drifted towards the call of the life. He had dreams like this before but he could not explain this phenomena. He reach out towards the light with his right hand. His right arm glowed…

* * *

Kakashi watched the men put down the blond on the damp floor and clamped on the shackles that will hold him until the interrogation. They would later bring this blond to the throne room where the Empress will interrogate him and the other prisoner herself. This will be the first time they will bring two prisoners in front of the Empress.

"Pity if you are the Momoshiki officer, the empress will fry you into a crisp." He murmured towards the prone figure of the male.

He was about to leave the room when a light stopped him. He turned his body and saw that the stump of the blond was glowing. And in one blinding flash of light, it was gone. What Kakashi saw next shocked him to the core.

On the place where the stump was is a new arm. The hand was wrinkled and a shade lighter than the man's caramel skin.

The blond's hand had regenerated itself.

* * *

AN: Special thanks to my beta and co-author _gio08_!

Also, thank you for those who favorite and followed this story and my other stories! I will do my best and update as soon as I can!

Another thing, I will be following the canon Chakra nature releases.


	3. Chapter 2

The metal door slammed against the concrete wall of the castle dungeon as the black armored members of Shino's troops stormed inside, ignoring the dungeon's keepers. Following the troops, is a tall man whose face is littered with scars. He casually strolled into the dark area and snapped his fingers, causing one of the keepers to scurry to him and snap his own fingers to produce a fire. The intimidating figure lit up his cigarette from the man's finger and waved him away. The keepers avoided their gaze from the man's grotesque face as he puffed a smoke.

The man is none other than the Imperial interrogator, Morino Ibiki. He has been in service since Hashirama's reign. He had been young by then, but the horrors of war designed him to become the man he is. Yes, he was too young to become the head Interrogator of the Empire, but too many children had been exposed to war during Emperor Hanzo's reign. The tortures he induce at the present did not hold a candle to the gore he had witnessed when he was young. But since the current Empress's reign, he had not been doing hard core things lately, as the Empress herself wanted to interrogate the Momoshiki worshippers they had collected. This of course, gained Ibiki's utmost respect for the young Empress. This was a very good thing for the Empress, as before her reign, there were lots of people doubting her ability to reign, including Ibiki. The Empress was timid and gentle. They had expected that she would be like that when she took the crown. She had ultimately showed them all that she might be a gentle woman towards her peers, but she was not so towards her enemies.

Ibiki then saw the man he was looking for. Huddled in a chair with a dimly lit lamp on the side and an orange book on his hand was Kakashi.

"Fancy seeing you here, Kakashi-kun. Thought you'll be beside her majesty now." The dark haired scarred man stated.

Kakashi raised his head and nonchalantly stared at the man before him. He then observed the members of Shino's troop dragging out the dark haired prisoner in chains. The prisoner groaned, probably because of his broken ribs, but Shino's men were merciless and dragged the sod up to the stairs with no care for his wellbeing. Then the light haired prisoner was dragged out. Kakashi can see the confused looks most of the men gave to the prisoner. One of the prisoner's hands was unshackled, probably because that hand was not there during his capture. They were about to drop the prisoner to investigate but Kakashi intervened.

"Take him to the throne room. He has Yang chakra nature… he regenerated his hand." Kakashi explained.

Although most of the men are still disturbed and confused, they dared not to break a superior's orders. They took the paler hand of the blond and shackled him. They dragged the prisoner the same way as the other one.

"What was that about? I did not know that those who have Yang chakra can re-grow their hands." Ibiki stated, also confused.

Kakashi closed his book and held out his hand. Ibiki took a cigar from his pocket and hand it to the silver haired man, who placed it on his masked mouth. The same keeper as before scurried in to light Kakashi's cigar and Kakashi took one puff before answering.

"That's because yang chakra users are so rare that they're practically a mystery. I really thought that the brat had wind chakra though." He shook his head. "Maybe the one worshipper was the one with wind chakra. That was the one who got away with the tribute." He concluded.

Ibiki clicked his tongue at this. "Not only did you miss this one person, a lad with rare chakra nature, but he is about to be seared into ash. Such an unlucky day." He took another puff of his cigar and shook his head in disappointment.

Kakashi sighed and tucked his book inside his yukata. "I can only hope that the blond is not the worshipper. But then again, if he isn't, Orochimaru-san would be salivating over him at the thought of a new research material… That is a fate worse than death."

Ibiki laughed at this, imagining the royal head of the research and development department eyeing the blond lustfully. "Yes, yes! I would rather die than become that man's object of obsession."

The silver haired man took his cigarette from his masked mouth and smirked. "Seeing that Madara is his current obsession, I sure do hope that traitor would commit suicide soon."

The scarred man shook his head. "I don't think her majesty would want that. She would prefer if she herself would burn the man into a crisp."

There was a long stretch of silence as the two males puffed their cigars while listening to the footsteps of the troopers outside of the dungeon. When they heard those footsteps become coordinated they figured that it was time to go.

The two males followed behind the throng. Both were content in watching the men drag the two prisoners. Ibiki noticed that Kakashi's attention was focused more on the blond.

"A ryo for your thoughts?" Ibiki asked jokingly, tossing one ryo towards the silver haired masked man, who caught the ryo and gave it a flip.

Kakashi stared at the back of the groaning blond prisoner before answering. "The boy looks familiar." Although Kakashi isn't quite sure though. The blond's face is littered with dirt and bruises. Half of his face was also coated with dry blood. His hair is almost brown in color from the dirt. But then, Kakashi can make up familiar facial structures such as the sharpness of the blond's nose and the distinct angle of his jaw. Kakashi was positive that he had seen such features before, but from another person.

"You have taken quite an interest with the blond." Ibiki smirked. "Orochimaru-sama might not be the only one who will lust after the boy at this rate. And here I thought your desires lies on the opposite sex."

The silver haired man lazily glared at his companion, but refused to say anything, he was too occupied in trying to remember the man that reminded him of the boy.

Scratching one of his scars, Ibiki just shrugged his shoulders at the silent treatment that he received. "I can see why you took interest with the boy though." Ibiki narrowed his eyes at the shackled prisoner. He only caught a brief glance at the blond but the thing that caught most of his attention were the three identical lines on each cheek of the young man. Unlike his scars that were littered upon his face, the young man's scars look like they were intentionally carved on his cheeks. Very peculiar. There is no record up to date of Momoshiki worshippers intentionally scarring their members. If the young man really is a Momoshiki officer, then the scarring might provide more intel on how the cult works.

Ibiki forced his attention towards the other prisoner. The black haired prisoner's yukata was ripped on the front probably made by the healers who wanted access on his chest area. He had heard that the male broke all of his ribs and his heart almost ruptured. The healers declared that the man won't live long enough with his battered heart, causing them to schedule the interrogation earlier than required. Ibiki heard that the Generals abruptly stopped the annual meeting of the Kings just because of this. He smirked, thinking that the Generals were probably having fun barging in on their superiors.

While Ibiki was smirking at the image of enraged Kings and the council's elders, Kakashi still couldn't point his finger on the matter at hand. Why was the boy so familiar? He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he almost missed a turn, causing Ibiki to chuckle. But perhaps it was for the best, for he caught in his periphery the distinct blond spikes of Kumogakure's King. He saw Minato-denka talking to his advisor at the gardens down below. It was then that something lit up inside Kakashi. The King surely sports the same features as the young man.

* * *

Naruto felt heavy, like his body was on fire. Although the pain towards his right hand was gone, the sudden loss of energy engulfed his body, like a boulder was just dropped on his shoulders. He was so tired that his eyes wouldn't open and his mind felt hazy. But he could make up things from the outside realm. He could feel himself being dragged, his feet scrapping on the carpeted floor. He could hear the clanking of chains and his own groans. His head hung on his shoulders, occasionally going from side to side accompanied with a pained groan. The hands holding his arms bruised. He felt a numb pain coming from his limbs. He felt his consciousness go black again and he succumbed to the darkness.

The next thing Naruto knew was that he is being held down and the pain had intensified. He groaned out loud as his arms were bent on a painful angle behind his back, with someone putting their weight on his being. He couldn't move, he couldn't do anything but open his eyes. When he did open his eyes, it was all a blur. Tears unconsciously came out of his eyes to clear out his view. His head throbbed in pain and his mouth felt like sand. The first thing he noticed is that the structures of the room sure looked like painted gold, or maybe, it was pure gold. The other thing was that they he was being surrounded by many people. The ones holding him down were wearing black samurai armor, but the Imperial's insignia of a golden spiral confirmed his suspicions. Why is he being held down by Imperial men?

He swung his head to the side and saw Kidomaru in the same position as he was in. His blood boiled, seeing the fucker alive and breathing. He was so sure that the bastard was dead after he landed him his ultimate blow. Nobody had come out alive of Naruto's swirling death technique he had come to call Rasengan. He just wanted to stand up and cut the man into pieces at what he did to the passengers of the caravan. Then he remembered something, he had lost his right arm. The blond tried to wiggle free but their grip was locked. Much to his confusion, he couldn't feel any pain on his right arm anymore, but felt numbness instead. Before he could form any thoughts on it, the huge shouji door behind the two golden thrones in front of him opened and a throng of well-dressed people poured out. It was then that Naruto realized that he was currently in the Imperial palace, specifically, on the throne room. His jaw dropped in shock.

Nine armored people near Naruto's age lined up on the side of the two thrones in the middle of the carpeted ramp. Naruto gaped, not believing that he was actually looking at the Nine Saints of the Empire. He had heard the tales surrounding these individuals. He wondered which of them were true.

The stairs leading to the ramp was also elegantly carpeted and Naruto could already see the billions of Ryos one could earn from selling the carpet. He silently cursed himself from even thinking of stealing the carpet while he was in his current position. But he can't really blame himself. For all of his life, he fed himself from selling items that he had honorably earned laced with some items that he had stolen from well-off individuals.

The nine individuals fell to one knee as they bowed towards the figure that elegantly walked into the hall. Naruto watched, wide eyed, at the woman who made everyone bow down to their knees. She was not tall, in fact, she was definitely a short woman. Her hair was very long though, trailing behind her long kimono, but it was also silky black in color. Unlike Naruto's dark skin, hers was almost snow white. She wore a gold and white layered Kimono and the golden leaf crown rests upon her semi-braided hair. She is the Empress of Konoha, Senju Hinata.

But all Naruto could see at that moment was a flash of memory. Two lavender white eyes of a scared and saddened girl peering at his blue ones. The same lavender white eyes which now rest upon the Empress's beautiful unmoving face. Could it be that the girl in his memory was the same person as the intimidating figure in front of him? His suspicion was confirmed when the Empress sat down on her throne and one servant placed a pure white overgrown bunny on her lap. Seems like his bunny had a better life growing up than him, or was it his bunny's offspring? He wasn't quite knowledgeable on the critters' lifespan.

The Empress gently smiled at the nibbling bunny and stroked it. Such a gentle scene amongst the killing intent the surrounding individuals were sending to Naruto and Kidomaru. If Naruto's hands were free, he would have awkwardly scratched the back of his head with his right hand. Well, he had to get used to the fact that he'll probably be using his left hand as the dominant hand now.

"What do we have here?" The Empress asked with her soft voice. If Naruto weren't in this position, he would have gaped at her and introduced himself. Due to his short attention span, he started day dreaming of the beautiful Empress who was once the girl he gifted with a bunny, kissing him and declaring him her hero. His daydreaming was halted by the booming voice coming from behind him.

"Two Momoshiki worshippers, well, one of them maybe not." A voiced laced with indifference stated behind him.

Naruto opened his mouth to deny the accusation but the only sound that came out of his mouth is similar that of a dying toad. It seems that his despised companion found his voice sooner than he did.

"H-he iss!" Kidomaru weezed. But despite the pain on his chest, he jerked his head towards Naruto. "H-He i-is the w-worshipper, H-heika!"

Naruto squirmed at this, anger flared inside him directed towards the lying bastard. Despite his swollen eyes, he glared at the black haired traitor and spat. "F-fuck y-ou." He whispered. It was the only thing he could wheeze out from his throat. He then coughed multiple times to clear out the lump on his throat that suspiciously felt like dried blood.

The crowd behind them started murmuring and whispering to each other. They knew this scene very well. Of course the prisoners would deny any involvement to the cult.

The Empress remained stoic and unimpressed. She lifted up her bunny in a more comfortable position and continued stroking its soft fur. She turned to one of the Saints and stated with a soft smile.

"Shino-kun, maybe if they could move freely they could better defend their case."

Some of the saints gasped at this. One beautiful woman with hair the color of cherry blossoms snapped her head towards her Empress.

"Heika! They might do something to harm you!" The woman hotly stated.

The Empress just smiled, her face that of an angel to Naruto's eyes. "They better." She said cryptically.

The man named Shino waved his hand and Naruto felt the weight pressing him down disappeared. He did the first thing he could think off, he vomited blood.

Ibiki wrinkled his nose in disgust seeing the blond man vomit a mixture of blood and stomach contents into the red carpet. Kakashi who was beside him, chuckled at this.

Some of the audience gagged in disgust and some just shrugged their shoulders like they are used to this already. The saints remained at their positions, but they too, were unnerved by the scene.

Naruto coughed one more time before raising one finger to signal that he needs one more minute but stopped seeing his pointer finger from his supposedly severed hand. Due to his shock, he cupped his right hand and screamed like the whole world just showed him the answer to everything.

Everyone stared at the screaming man who promptly rolled on the carpet, clutching his suspiciously light skinned right hand. Kiba slowly turned his head towards his long friend Shino who just gave him a blank stare. Meanwhile, Lee looked like he was about to cheer the blond.

"Where did you found this guy?" Ibiki whispered to Kakashi who stared dumbfounded at the blond.

"MY HAAAND!" The blond wailed, in what seemed like a cry of happiness, before Shino's men just moved without orders and pinned the wriggling blond down.

They took a moment to compose themselves before Kakashi went to front of the prisoners and bowed towards the Empress. He was still amused at the blond who looked like he was stopping himself from grinning in happiness.

"Heika, allow me to interroga-" he didn't get to end his sentence as he was joined by a masked man who appeared amongst the crowd and bowed beside Kakashi. Kakashi smirked, silently praising the man for his perfect timing. This man was new to the ranks, but proved himself as a man loyal to the crown. Kakashi trusted this man, contrary to their first meeting a couple of months ago.

"Great timing, Sai-kun. You save us the trouble of interrogating these men." Kakashi stated towards the younger man beside him.

The man's dark eyes, which is the only thing visible in his outfit, wrinkled, indicating that the man was smiling.

"I see that this is a new form of interrogation, they are not even tied up." The man commented before standing up with Kakashi.

Sensing that he was not needed anymore, Kakashi returned to his former position beside a glowering Ibiki, who also wanted to participate in the interrogation.

The Empress diverted her eyes away from the peculiar blond to Sai's figure. She smiled at her subject and waved her hand, giving Sai the free reign to talk.

Sai bowed his head once again, but not before slightly turning his head towards the blond and winked. The blond visibly shivered in disgust while the unmoving prisoner a meter away from him shook in fear upon hearing Sai's name. Kidomaru was visibly sweating and his hands shook on his lap.

"Heika, I will get straight to the point, this man-" He pointed towards Kidomaru "-Is amongst the higher ranks of the Cult. He is Kidomaru, known as the one organizing major raids and heists in the cult."

Kidomaru was speechless, staring horrified at the black clad figure pointing towards him. Then his body shook in fury, he willed his weak body to move but was held down by Shino's men who abandoned their blond prisoner for him.

"SAI! YOU TRAITOR!" He roared in anger. A crazed look flickered in his face. "SO THIS IS WHERE YOU WENT! YOU BETRAYED US! YOU BETRAYED MADARA-KAMI!" He continued and tried to pry off his assailants, but his body is too weak, his heart strained.

Sai was unmoving, unfeeling as he stared at infuriated form of his former comrade. Instead of addressing the enraged man, he turned towards the Empress.

"Unfortunately like most of us, he has no idea where Madara is. But erasing him would hold back the cult for a moment." He bowed. "I suggest ending his life, Heika."

Kidomaru's anger sky rocketed at this. "BLAST YOU SAI! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS MUTINY! HE WILL ERASE YOU ALL! HE IS A GOD! HE IS THE ONE TRUE GOD! NO HAGOROMO WILL STOP HIM!" he ranted, his face contorting into madness.

Using what's left of his energy, Kidomaru concentrated on the tiny flecks of dirt on his boots and formed a tiny ball of dirt in the shape of a spider. Using his finger, he flicked the dirt towards the Empress which sailed in a fast pace towards her. But before it can hit the Empress, Sai's outstretched hand caught the ball, digging into his palm. The next thing that happened shocked all of the audiences as all Saints raised their arms. Seeing this, Shino's men jumped back, forming a shield formation in front of the civilian audiences. Kakashi and Ibiki themselves joined in this shield formation. Naruto who was left on the ground where he was detained, saw the whole spectacle at close range.

The ground erupted and clamped itself on Kidomaru, but before that, Naruto watched Kidomaru's limbs burst into fire, his skin wrinkled as the water evaporated from his body, blood gushed out of his mouth and a black substance crept up of his body, squeezing the blood from his skin. Kidomaru's gurgled scream ran throughout the hall before the rising earth swallowed his form and blood burst out of the crevice of the rocky prison. Some of the blood went into Naruto face but he couldn't turn away from the gore. He watched, wide eyed, as the cloud of dust created by the rising earth cleared and all the remained is a ball of earth which was oozing with blood and smelled like burnt flesh.

That day was marked in history as the day when the nine saints killed one man at the same time.

Naruto could not move. His heart pounded in his chest but he felt no fear. He was in awe at the sheer power of the nine saints. He remained on the ground, motionless. The carpet was ripped into sheds from the chakra energy released by the combined power of the nine saints. The Empress remained on her seat, still stroking her bunny like the gore didn't happen at all. Sai, who was injured, just ripped his gloves to where he was injured and took out the ball of dirt with his fingers. None of the Nine looked remorseful, none of them were disturbed by what they had done. It struck Naruto that he was facing battle hardened people who were just his age. He was facing the people who is now shaping the world that he lives in.

* * *

After the whole debacle, Hinata stood up and wordlessly left the throne room with her bunny at hand. Her nine generals soon followed her as she made way towards her office. She heard the telltale sign of the doors closing behind her as she entered her office and placed her bunny in his open cage.

"Hooo! That was so uneventful!" Kiba stated as he threw himself onto the sofa and stretched his body.

Sakura shrugged off her heavy armor and placed it beside the sofa and Ino did the same. Both of them slumped down the sofa and practically melted with a sigh.

"The highlight for me was when the whiskered man screamed, such youth!" Lee stated and punched the air in excitement.

Chouji silently opened the drawer on the Empress's desk knowing that he would find some canned red bean soup in there. He took all of the cans and distribute them amongst his peers but he was the only one who ate the food.

Tenten, who also took of her armor revealing a loose yukata which showed her sports bra, tucked her foot inside the kotatsu which is located between two cherry colored sofas. She sighed in pleasure as the heat from the kotatsu warmed her aching feet.

"Speaking of that guy, he was so funny when he saw his hand. I wonder why he acted that way." She commented.

Neji who scooted beside her, still in his armor, clicked his tongue. "Such an uncouth behavior. When will his execution be?" He asked the Empress who was facing the balcony.

The Empress's office was formerly Emperor Hashirama's room, which was redesigned as an office. They say that Hinata chose this room specifically because of what happened there. Seeing the office, remembering her father's death, fuels her being in determination. They said that her personal vendetta against Madara is the reason why she has the resolve to end him.

"He is innocent." Shino simply stated and simply leaned on the wall.

"I suggest we free the guy. We might be dealing with an insane man here." Shikamaru commented and threw his armor towards Lee, who kicked it towards Tenten, who caught it with her bare hands and winced.

Shikamaru took a cigar from inside of his yukata and gave one to Shino. Neji, who decided to take off his armor, provided both men the fire they needed to light up their cigars. There was a moment of silence as the Nine saints relaxed for a while, basking in this rare chance that all nine of them are united in one place.

The door opened and silver haired man stuck his head inside with his eyes shaped like and inverted U.

"Are you guys talking about the blond guy?" The older man asked, as he fully opened the door.

"Kakashi-san! The Kotatsu is warm!" Tenten commented as she snuggled inside the heated table.

"Thank you for the offer, Tenten-chan." Kakashi stated. "My, my, what an eventful reunion you lot had. I applaud you for the spectacular show!"

The nine whispered their thanks with Lee voicing his louder than the others and proceeded to do pushups as soon as Kakashi entered. Two more men followed Kakashi before they closed the door.

"I don't know what to do with the blond guy, should we just send him to Orochimaru-sama?" Ibiki stated. He made his way to the unoccupied sofa and waved Shikamaru to give him a cigar.

Kiba scowled at this. "Send him to- why would you send him to that creep?"

Kakashi joined Ibiki on the left sofa and took off his boots so he could tuck his bare foot inside the kotatsu. "The kid has yang chakra."

The third man who entered perked up about this. He took off his mask showing a handsome very pale face. He sat next to Ino in the sofa. "Yang chakra? Never thought I'll ever meet one."

"You have Yin chakra, right Sai-kun?" Ino asked her lover.

Sai nodded his head. He was not the only one who has Yin chakra in the group though, Shikamaru also has Yin chakra. Both of them specialize in their own fighting technique. Although those who have Yin chakra are uncommon, one who has yang is definitely rare.

Shino puffed a smoke. "I do remember that he was missing his right arm when we found him. It was freshly severed." He commented thinking back.

"He regenerated his arm!? S-so much youthfulness indeed!" Lee exclaimed somersaulting in glee.

"So that's why he was screaming. He might have unconsciously regenerated himself, doesn't explain why he was so shocked though." Tenten mused.

"This is so troublesome." Shikamaru said.

Kiba burst out laughing. "Send him to the creep! That mad man needs some company!"

The balcony door closed. Hinata had been listening in their conversation undetected. She decided to join the conversation after she had gathered her thoughts in the balcony. Her braided hair was now loose, her long hair trailing behind her. She walked towards her desk which faces the kotatsu.

"What do you think, Hinata-chan?" Sakura asked, calling her Empress in a much more familiar way. She only calls the Empress –chan behind closed doors, so does the others. Just like Emperor Hashirama, Hinata provided her subordinates with friendship, something that the nine greatly treasure. She had made it clear that they could call her whatever they want to call her. But one thing is clear, she is their superior, the head of the Empire and the future. She was to be respected.

Hinata flinched at Sakura's question. Much to their bewilderment, the Empress' cheeks reddened, and it was not because of the cold. She placed her palms on her burning cheeks.

"I've seen him before." She stated. "He was that boy." She continued with a voice that was almost a whisper.

"Eh? I can't recognize anyone with his beat up face." Ino commented, causing Sakura to glare at her.

The other males groaned in displeasure, sensing that an imminent girl talk is about to commence. Chouji who has been silent for most of time decided to amuse himself with challenging Shikamaru in a game of shogi.

"I am curious." Kakashi stated opening his orange book.

"The boy who gave me Usagi-kun." She pointed towards her bunny. "It will also explain why Usagi-kun has lived this long. His Yang chakra might have influenced him."

Ibiki stroked one of his longer scars which ran from his left cheekbone to the bottom of his lip. A habit he acquired when he is deep in thought. "That is interesting."

Like lightning, the Empress's expression became serious. "Kakashi-san, you once told me about the possibility of assassinations towards my younger sister. Maybe you could train this man to become Imouto's bodyguard."

Neji scowled. "Hold up, Hinata-sama. We could hire one of our men to do just that. This man is new to us. He cannot be trusted." He argued.

"Neji has a point Heika." Shikamaru stated. "It is better if he becomes your bodyguard instead."

"…How is that better?" Chouji asked.

Some agreed on Chouji's sentiment.

Shikamaru straightened up. "Imagine this, that lunatic has Yang chakra. A chakra that supposedly can breathe life into a form. We know very well that Madara can very well slip past our security undetected and assassinate Heika. With a man like him with her, he could heal her in minutes."

Kiba bit on his lip. "But that is just a theory."

It was Shino who backed up Shikamaru's logic. "We found out this man regenerated his arm confirming that Yang chakra can form new cells in a fast period of time. This man has so much potential. It is best to recruit him into our ranks, why? He could be used as our healer."

"Yes. So much potential." Sakura mused. She can see Shino's point in this. As a healer who studied medicine, this new knowledge about the yang chakra really is revolutionary. She mentally noted herself to write to Tsunade-hime about this.

"But it still doesn't solve the problem that this man is not loyal to the crown." Neji argued. His past experiences had made him wary of people.

"That's why Heika called unto Kakashi-san to supervise this man. Kakashi-san reformed Sai himself. And we all know that Sai was a Momoshiki worshipper before. Kakashi-san has a way of integrating loyalty within people." Shikamaru reasoned and nodded his head towards Kakashi who nodded back.

"What do you think, Hinata-sama? Are you up for a body guard?" Tenten asked the silent Empress.

Hinata's heart skipped a beat. The sudden divert of plans took her by surprise. But she can see Shikamaru's logic in this. This is a well thought plan. More importantly, Shikamaru knew that she had been studying about the chakra natures and their weaknesses to further prepare themselves in confronting Madara, who supposedly can control all chakra natures. But because of Yang chakra's rarity, she knows so little about it. With this passive plan of Shikamaru's, she can study the Yang chakra up close and could maybe spar against it. This didn't explain the sudden quickening of her heart though. Maybe it was because the man that's going to become her body guard is the same boy who gave her hope. She thought she had already waved off her silly and unconventional crush on the unknown boy. She then shook her head to clear it.

"Yes, train him to become my bodyguard, Kakashi-san. I want him to start his duty as soon as he is able."

* * *

In an unknown place, in a hidden castle. Deep beneath the earth, in the castle's dungeons, lied a woman chained on the wall.

The only light illuminating the room is the lantern hanging outside of her cell. Her hands are cuffed by a chain connecting to the concrete wall. No matter how hard she tugged, the wall wouldn't give away. The woman has been imprisoned there for a long, long, time now, that she had already forgotten how the outside world looked like. She had already forgotten the warmth of the sun or the coldness of the winter. She had already forgotten about the smell of the fresh air. All she can smell is her own piss and feces laced with her own foul body odor. This is not always the case though, she is sometimes allowed to bathe. But since her last attempt of escaping, she was not allowed to touch fresh water anymore.

Her body is severely malnourished, her collarbones sticking out of her once white nagajuban. Her crimson unkempt hair framed her body like a protective layer shielding her near naked body from prying eyes.

She appears to be sleeping, her body leaning on the wall, her head down. But in reality she is reliving memories of her loved ones, the only thing she has left. She pictured her beloved, his light blond hair, tan skin and sharp blue eyes. The times he caressed her cheeks as they stared at each other under the shade of a tree. The times he professed his love for her. The times they made love in secret. The times he had tried to defy his family just so he could marry a lowly commoner from Kirigakure. The time she left him without a word, hoping that he would reconcile with his family, hoping that he would be able to flourish as a King without her.

She regretted her rash decisions. She regretted not telling him of the child which she carried. She regretted not going back to him when she started to have visions of the God Hamura telling her of her child's destiny. She should have told her beloved Minato. He could have witnessed the day she gave birth of their son. He would have been able to touch the young child who almost looked like him. She would have never ended in this hell hole.

The gate suddenly opened, revealing a long haired man wearing a simple black Yukata and haori. The man is handsome, save for his cruel smirk. He studied the woman before him. How many times he had tried to break her, but she remained firm and unyielding. She would have taken this beautiful and feisty woman as his mistress if he weren't so obsessed with his past lover. But for him, nobody could trump Kaguya's beauty.

"Good evening, Kushina-chan." The black haired man greeted.

The woman smirked and raised her head. Her gray-violet eyes shining with hate. "How would I know if it's evening? You wouldn't let me go outside." She hissed.

The man ignored her venom laced question. "How is your fifth day without water? We are just trying to discipline you not to use your water chakra to escape. There is no use in escaping, Kushina-chan."

The red haired woman spat on the man's face. "Fuck you." She hissed.

The man known to the world as Madara sighed. "Someday, you will tell me the name of your son, and I will end his life in front of you." With that, he left the cell.

Tears accumulated Kushina's eyes. She closed her eyes once again and day dreamed of her son. The image of her Minato together with her as they celebrate their son Naruto's birthday. That now seems like a distant dream that she would never reach.

* * *

Unknown to Kushina, her salvation was currently standing outside of the dark castle, waiting for the right time to stealthily infiltrate the castle which was said to be one of the Cult's hideouts.

Itachi tied his horse a mile away from the feudal style castle. He doesn't know what to expect once he infiltrated the castle. The only thing he knows is that the castle was supposedly abandoned, but locals reported that they had heard voices and saw apparitions on the castle grounds. He greatly suspects that the castle is a hideout.

For weeks, he had been watching the castle. Just five days ago, he heard a large explosion coming from the castle's base confirming that the castle is far from abandoned. He plans on infiltrating it, and hopefully he can find some information on his father's whereabouts.

Far above him, a raven cawed and landed on his shoulder. He wrote a short missive and tied the paper on the bird's leg and let it go. The bird will travel south east towards the capital where his Empress will receive his Intel. Another bird landed on his shoulder, this time it is a hawk who carries a message for him. He opened the small piece of paper and read its contents. A rare smile bloomed on his lips. He wrote another letter and tying the letter on the hawk's leg.

A storm is brewing above him. Lightning flashed on the skies accompanied by the booming sound of thunder. This will be the first time a storm will fall since Itachi's arrival on the rural area. It seems that his plans are cancelled for the night. He will have to return once the storm is through. The storms in this area is said to be rather deadly with its frequent flashfloods and landslides. He untied his horse and raced back to civilization.

That same night, Madara left the castle to continue his campaign. But soon, father and son will meet once again.

* * *

Hey guys! I would like to clarify the time period of this fic. It is set like the canon Naruto where the world is half modern, half edo period. There is technology but not as developed for the same reasons that the canon Naruto had, war.

Somebody asked if Madara will become obsessed with Hinata? Let's find out and see.

Thank you to my beta and co-author _gio08_!


	4. Chapter 3

It has been three days since Naruto's capture. Three days and he is still alive. Naruto shifted on the hard ground he was sitting on and rubbed his aching head. It still befuddled him why he was imprisoned in an empty room instead of the dungeons. The man stationed outside of his current room told him that he was in the dungeons before, although he had no memory of being imprisoned there. The thing that confused him the most was that he was not executed. Although he knew that he is innocent, nobody had really spoken to him after the interrogation. He was also not released, so he just assumed that he will be executed. He did still try to escape his prison, but found out that he was not able to use his wind chakra at all. It is still there, but he can feel that his chakra container all in all was very low.

 _'It must be because of my hand'_ he thought, while looking at his right hand in wonder.

The skin there was much lighter than the rest of his body, like a freshly peeled skin. He was still confused on how he actually regenerated his own arm. He was pretty sure that someone had cleaved it off.

All this thinking made his head ache more. He leaned on the wall and closed his eyes. An image flashed through his mind, that of the Empress. The beautiful and elegant Empress. He smirked at the thought that he had met the Empress before she was even one. That small little girl he charmed back when he was still young. What a funny coincidence this whole thing turned out to be.

 _'If I had known that she was a Princess, I would have given her something more valuable than a bunny.'_ He thought and his hand flew to his chest, where a jade necklace resides.

The necklace was the only valuable thing he has. It was something that his mother had given him before she disappeared. She said that it belonged to his father, who gave it to her as a form of confession. She said that he would only give it to a girl who was special. Who was more special than the Empress herself? Maybe he could give it to the Empress right now as some kind of barter for his freedom.

His thoughts drifted back to his mother. He could still remember the day she disappeared without a trace. It was a sunny day, he was five years old during that time. They lived on the outskirts of Uzukagure in a small, but homely cottage. He was helping her plant some cabbages when the wind shifted and they both stilled. During that time, he was already well versed in wind manipulation. He was being trained for months now by a tourist from Sunagakure named, Karura, and had been learning at a fast rate at how to manipulate his element. When the wind whispered in his ear, he knew that something bad was about to happen. It seemed like his mother knew too.

He could still remember her violet gray eyes widening as she tucked her long red hair up in a bun. She told him to run to his aunt's house and scolded him when he stubbornly denied her. The moment he saw the fear in her eyes, he obeyed.

Along the way, he met his aunt, who was also running towards their house. His aunt told him to hide in her house. It was his cousin who dragged him inside the house while her aunt ran to where his mother was. That was the last time he saw his aunt alive.

Minutes later, there was a loud explosion. His cousin ran out and he followed. Almost all of the villagers went out to investigate.

In the place where his house was, was a crater. His aunt's corpse was found mangled near the impact zone. His mother was nowhere to be found.

Even now, he still doesn't know what happened that day or whether his mother was still alive. But everyone in the village started blaming his missing mother for the accident.

They said that the reason why her body was never found was because she left after killing her younger sister. They had been suspicious of his mother, especially when his mother allegedly could see what happened in the past and what would happen in the near future. They called her a witch, a heretic and insane. And now she allegedly murdered her sister before falling into madness.

These rumors reflected badly on the young Naruto. He was shunned and no one would give him food. His cousin, who was about the same age as he was, refused to talk to him. He feared that she believed the rumors, so Naruto was forced to leave the village with an empty stomach. He learned to hunt in the wild and steal food from passing stages. He lured bunnies into his traps and sold them as pets in the villages. This earned him enough money to buy food and clothing.

At first, he wanted revenge. Revenge towards the people who was responsible for his mother's demise and towards the people of his village who shunned him. But as he grew older, he realized that revenge was not the answer, never the answer. He learned to let go of his hate and focus on the future and surviving the world alone.

At eight, he found work in a local dojo in Kirigakure. There he learned how to wield a sword and a bow from observing the students as he wiped the floors of the dojo. He earned little, but he learned a lot. At the age of ten, he was able to purchase his own Tachi and left the dojo.

Throughout the passing years, he worked as a mercenary, and he travelled towards Sunagakure. There he found out that his former teacher, Karura, was the wife of the fourth King of the village and that she had already passed away two years before. Naruto's teacher's brother, Yashamaru, recognized the little twerp that his sister adored and took him into his little dojo for those who had wind chakra nature. Naruto could proudly say that he had even met the current King of Sunagakure, Gaara, and even became his best friend for a short amount of time. They trained together until Gaara was taken out of the dojo because his Princely training had already started. Naruto was pretty sure that Gaara had already forgotten about him.

He left the dojo after Yashamaru's death and became a drifter at the age of seventeen. During this time, he was already very capable on taking care of himself and holding his own in a fight. He went around the Kingdoms with no purpose in life. He just followed what the wind told him to do. And now, at the age of twenty, he is within the Imperial city. He had only been to the city once, and it was brief. He was tasked to bring a letter to a merchant and he left the city immediately for another contract.

He opened his eyes and pondered. He reflected on what he had become. A purposeless man who was not driven by anything. So unlike his younger self, who once dreamt of being a hero while his mother beamed at him and praised him.

"Are you done reminiscing?"

Naruto snapped his head to the man in front of him whose back was facing the closed door. It seemed that he was so deep in his thoughts that he did not notice the door opening and closing.

The man in front of him is tall, but Naruto can see that he might be a couple of inches taller than the man. The most distinct feature he can observe from the man is his silver gravity defying hair. A dark blue mask also covered the lower portion of his face, showing two lazy dark eyes.

"Am I going to get executed now?" Naruto commented, giving the man a smirk.

"Nope." The man stated, popping the 'p'. This caused Naruto to raise a brow.

"Congratulations boy! You just earned a job!" The man cheerfully stated, with his eyes turning into an inverted U.

Naruto blinked three times, before letting out an unintelligent 'uhhh' sound.

The man took this as an opportunity to express himself. "Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Hatake Kakashi." He crouched down on Naruto's level. "And you are?"

Naruto shook his head and managed to let out an answer. "Naruto." He stated, still dumbfounded.

Kakashi waited for a moment, thinking that Naruto might tell him his family name but was given none. The man just shrugged his shoulders and continued.

"So Naruto-kun, you will become Hinata-heika's bodyguard. She has chosen you yourself. I was tasked to train you and manage your progress." He stated, while looking at the confusion painted the blond's face.

"Hold up! Me?.. Bodyguard?.. To the fucking Empress?!" Naruto couldn't believe his ears.

Kakashi smiled. "Very peculiar isn't it? You can thank your Yang chakra for that."

Naruto blinked. "Yang what?"

The smile on the silver haired man's face disappeared. He eyed Naruto critically. "You have Yang chakra, right? I saw you using Yang chakra to restore your hand."

The blond stared for a moment. He suddenly had a sense of déjà vu. Something similar to this had had happened before. It was during his stay at Sunagakure when Yashamaru stated that he saw Naruto supposedly using Water chakra in his sleep. Of course, they just laughed it off as Yashamaru drinking again. But Naruto could not shake off the suspicion, and now someone else is telling him that he allegedly used a chakra not of his own.

Kakashi waited for the blond to explain, but got nothing but a blank look on his face. Kakashi sighed and stood up, no need to make the blond uncomfortable. He could ask him later when he's more trusting.

"You are quite cunning too. I heard that you tried to escape by bribing Ebisu-kun with some panties."

There was an embarrassed groan coming from behind the door.

Thankful for the change in topic, Naruto grinned patting his bag beside him. "I know how to deal with perverts." He bragged. One of his past shenanigans was selling panties he stole from brothels. He figured out in his young age that those things sell. And he could even bribe a meal using the ones with laces. "I can also see that you are a pervert." He stated.

Kakashi smiled proudly and took out his orange book. "I am not one to brag."

The blond frowned seeing the orange book, known widely as an erotica. Although he collects panties from brothels to be sold to perverts, he himself is not a pervert. In fact, an unfortunate run in with one caused him trauma. Being forced to witness a couple doing the deed was not very pleasant to an eleven year old kid. He hissed a curse towards all perverts in the world and turned away.

"So are you up for it?" Kakashi asked, tucking his orange book away.

"Up for what? Being the Empress's bodyguard? I prefer to be free." Naruto stated.

"I'm afraid it is not that easy." Kakashi lazily turned his attention the paper patterns of the room. "You see, a person with Yang chakra is very rare. Her majesty is very interested in studying one, and she constantly needs a healer in case of attacks. You are the only person we know of that has Yang chakra. We can't pass up that opportunity."

Naruto wanted to tell him that he is wrong, that he doesn't have Yang chakra, but whenever his right hand comes to his periphery, he has this nagging feeling that he should agree and find out for himself what was happening to his body.

"And besides, it is either becoming a bodyguard or a lab rat. I would say that you would probably prefer to be a bodyguard yes? I must say that you might have heard tales about Orochimaru-sama." Kakashi continued, casting a mischievous look towards the blonde.

A shiver ran through Naruto as he recalled the tales of the Imperial city's self-proclaimed Imperial researcher.

"Yeah… I think I prefer the former." Naruto murmured.

"And besides, news of your attempted escape and your tactic has already spread throughout the castle. Let's just say that three of our powerful saints are females. Without the protection of Heika, you'll be gone in a minute." Kakashi cheerfully added, imagining the reactions of the females hearing about Naruto's possessions.

The blond visibly gulped and smiled nervously. "Hey, hey, it sounds as if you are blackmailing me." He waved a hand.

Kakashi smiled creepily. "Am I?"

* * *

"You're leaving so soon?" Sakura frowned as she watched Neji, Lee, Tenten, Kiba, and Chouji mount their respective horses.

Neji patted the neck of his chestnut colored horse. "We need to go back to Kirigakure as soon as possible. The settlement on the west coast needs to be supervised."

"Lee and I are tasked to find the woman from Kirigakure." Tenten reasoned.

Sakura sighed. "I can understand that but Kiba and Chouji needs to go too? I thought you guys would be staying for a while."

Kiba faked a sob. "I know you're going to miss me, but my trainees in Area forty-four need supervision."

Lee looked like he was about to legitimately cry. "I will be back for you my beautiful cherry blossom!" He dramatically turned his white horse and was followed by a slightly jealous Tenten.

Sakura of course ignored the whole thing and turned to Chouji, waiting for his own excuse.

"My troops just sent me a missive that cultists are spotted near our camp." Chouji stated, muttering an apology.

Tenten turned her trotting horse around to address Sakura. "How about you Sakura-chan? How about your post in Kumo?"

"Hinata-heika asked me to stay for a while first." She stated without any other editions.

Tenten clicked her tongue. "Confidential huh?" She asked, earning a confirming nod from the pink haired woman.

Neji straightened. "We must not delay." He stated, before kicking his horse to a gallop. Lee followed him waving his hand dramatically like he was leaving for a grand battle. Tenten hesitatingly galloped behind. The three of them went towards the main gate while Chouji and Kiba went towards the southern gate. Sakura was left in the dust, looking ahead.

"We must return to Iwagakure in a hurry! I fear of what has become of my Kingdom in my granddaughter's hand! She is young! Not ready to rule such a large land"

Sakura turned her head and saw the short King of Iwagakure being escorted to his own carriage. She remembered that it was time for the Kings to leave the Imperial City as well. She turned her head, watching and hoping that a particular King will not pop out of nowhere.

She did not wait for the King's carriage to depart and enter the castle gates to the court yard. Many people were there: Merchants, daimyo's, court women and many more. All made way, seeing the imposing figure of the pink haired General. Sakura had always been a confident woman, always been admired by the people she met. The ground sings when she plants her foot on the ground. This is a testament to her mastery in the Earthly arts.

On the second floor of the castle, one man watched the bright haired woman part the sea of people like a hurricane. She walked with power and strength, her footsteps heavy and sure. So unlike the gentle Empress, who is like a feather when she glides through the room.

The man frowned at his thoughts. There's no use comparing the two women. They both might be different in attitudes and temperament, but both are strong women. Both are equal, to him at least.

Sasuke crossed his arms on his chest. He really doesn't like thinking too much about these things, but seeing the pink haired woman again brought back memories of their past.

Sakura in the other hand, sighed in relief when she entered the castle without seeing a hair of Kirigakure's King. She tucked one stray pink hair behind her ear and let out a long breath. She had been shaken when she saw him in the meeting hall days ago, but she quickly hid it. Recollections of the past hit her like a ton of bricks when she saw his dark eyes staring at her.

Once upon a time, Sakura was a freshly graduated infantry woman. She was assigned to Kirigakure, guarding an Imperial envoy sent there. There she met the adopted son of the Queen, the oh-so-handsome and brooding Prince Sasuke. Although the Queen wanted her son to mingle with the others, he rudely refused all forms of socialization and opted to hide in his room.

Sakura was intrigued by the dark haired Prince. There was something about him that drew her to him. Maybe it was the air of mystery? Nobody really knows who the Prince's real parents were, the Prince was an enigma.

When the Queen asked her to guard the Prince while he traveled to the Capital, she couldn't refuse. At first, the Prince refused to talk to her. The nights proceeding their long journey were quiet and uneventful. That was until Sakura had enough and proceeded to call the Prince stuck up. The Prince retorted saying that she was annoying. At that moment, something sparked, and in their fourth night traveling, Sakura fell in love with the Prince.

When they arrived at the Capital, the Prince went straight to the newly returned Princess Hinata. Sakura was unnerved by the spark in his eyes when he saw the equally dark haired Imperial Princess. What Sakura saw… there was something there that she could never forget, love. She was heartbroken. For the first time in her life, she envied the Imperial Princess. Of course, she quickly discarded those feelings, she is loyal to her future Empress. But then again, she could not dismiss the aching in her heart.

The visit was not long. The Imperial Princess was greatly overjoyed, seeing Sakura once again. She also showed great happiness seeing the Prince, greeting him with familiarity. Much to Sakura's relief, she did not see the same spark of love in the eyes of the Empress. She felt foolish and selfish during that time. She cursed herself for those feelings. In another person's perspective, they would say that the match between the Imperial Princess and the Prince is very convenient. But her traitorous heart says otherwise.

She was once again tasked to accompany the Prince back to his Kingdom. She was avoiding him, he told her after the third day. She denied the accusation, but then, one moment of weakness made her confess to him. Sasuke was stoic, his feelings unreadable. Then he kissed her. Everything went so fast that time, the next thing she knew, she became his lover.

She was not able to return to the capital for months, Sasuke did not allow her to. In fact, she barely left his room at all. During those times, Sakura saw the real him. He might act cold, unfeeling and rude to her. But the gentleness of his touch told her that he cared. He would act aloof, hoping that she would come to him herself. She saw his longing, his longing for warmth. He also wanted a family of his own. It seemed that the Queen was more of a guardian than a mother.

But even though his kisses spoke of love and dedication, the love in his eyes when he saw the Imperial Princess again did not disappear, and that woke Sakura. She reflected upon herself and realized that she had become his mistress. She was ashamed of herself, disgusted even. That night she did come to his bed, and in the morning, she left with the Empress, who was visiting Kirigakure that time.

She did not want to face him. To hear the dreaded words to come out of his lips. For years later, her heart still beats for him.

Sakura shook her head and came back to the present. She raised her chin high. She was not the same foolish girl she had been once. She was now a General, one of Hinata's saints. Her life belongs to the Empire. But deep inside, she knows that her heart is still owned by the man who stole it.

Unbeknownst to Sakura, said man was watching her in the cover of the shadows. Hoping that one day, he could tell her the truth.

* * *

Layers and layers of papers stacked on her desk. This is the typical sight she encounters every day. But this is a welcome sight for her. She would rather be working than dallying around in the castle. On her lap is the bunny that has been her confidant for most of her life. She tied her long hair in a bun as she readied herself for a whole day of reading and signing papers.

One letter stood out amongst the papers.

"I haven't read this letter from Anue, Usagi-kun." Hinata stated, scratching the bunny behind the ears.

The letter had arrived earlier that day with the Imperial seal and her sister's distinct perfume. She had set it aside as she read a report from Sunakagure's border. Now that she's done reading the reports, she can concentrate on the legislative reports. But before touching any papers, she quickly grabbed her sister's letter and tore the seal.

She slowly smiled as she read the contents of the letter.

 _Dear Hinata,_

 _I am proud to tell you that you are now an Aunt to a healthy baby boy. We named him Nawaki. Dan is really happy and has been staring at our son for hours now. Hanabi-imouto is also doting on the poor boy. His looks are leaning towards the Uzumaki part of the family, his round eyes is a clear testament to that. But his hair is a much darker shade of blond. It is better if you see him yourself. We hope that you can visit soon._

 _Love,_

 _Tsunade_

Hinata pressed the letter to her heart. She is beyond happy for her older sister, who had found love to a poor farmer named Kato Dan. And now her heart soared, knowing that she gained another addition to her little family. She closed her eyes and let herself be immersed by the scent of her beloved older sister. They might have had different mothers, but she received the same amount of love a full sister would receive from Tsunade. In fact, Tsunade was more like a mother to her than her biological mother was.

She remembered the bitter memories back when her mother, Kaguya, was still alive. She remembered the cold stares and glares she received from the beautiful white haired Empress. She had asked her father why her mother didn't seem to love her, he answered saying that something bad had happened to her Hahaue causing her to act like that. But when her little sister, Hanabi, was born, her mother changed. She doted on little Hanabi despite her worsening condition. That was the only time the word 'daughter' ever came out from her mother's lips and it was directed to Hanabi. She never knew why Empress Kaguya was so cold to her. Her father once told her that it was because when Kaguya gave birth to her, the memories of her captivity were still fresh.

She had always been curious about her mother's supposed trauma from a certain captivity. Now that she's older and had been briefed about her mother's past, she can now understand a bit of her mother. In return of her mother's memory, she had cared and loved her mother's favorite daughter, Hanabi. She holds no ill regards to her little sister. In fact, she loves her younger sister with passion. But she still couldn't understand her Mother's animosity towards her.

The door suddenly opened and a familiar dark haired male entered the office. Hinata smiled and put down the letter before straightening up on her seat.

"Sasuke-kun, I thought you left already." She addressed her childhood friend.

Sasuke did not say anything and just made him comfortable on one of the sofas. Hinata amusingly noted that he was sitting on Sakura's favorite side of the contraption.

Her childhood friend looked the same as ever. Still the same impossibly handsome face, the same black hair with the spikes on the back of his head, still the same dark eyes.

"I heard that you're taking in a bodyguard. I want to meet him first." Sasuke stated, crossing his legs while propping his elbows up on the sofa's side arm.

A blush bloomed on Hinata's cheeks, recalling the mesmerizing blue eyes of her bodyguard to be. She averted her eyes and brought one document to her face, pretending to be reading.

"H-he is still being examined by Kakashi-san. H-he will be starting the day after tomorrow." She stuttered, her blush growing more by the second. She knows that her friend will surely pick up on her change in behavior.

But fortunately for her, Sasuke did not address her embarrassing stutter.

"I heard from Shikamaru that this man has Yang Chakra." Sasuke stated, not even bothering to add any honorific to the castle's genius. "Doesn't mean he is trust worthy though." He continued.

The empress giggled, pressing a hand over her mouth. "You sounded like Neji-nii-sama."

A slight smirk emerged from his thin lips. "He's considered to be a prodigy, like I was." He simply reasoned as he pushed himself off of the sofa. He approached the Empress and placed both palms flat on the desk.

Hinata looked up from her desk, her eyes shining with amusement. "I didn't know that you were one to brag, Sasuke-kun."

The dark haired King brought his left hand up and tapped her forehead with the pointer finger and the middle finger. "Don't get used to it."

Hinata smiled pressing a hand to her forehead. "You and Itachi-san do that often. What does it mean?"

The man did not answer but turned his back and walk towards the door and opened it. However, before he stepped out of the room, he turned his head.

"A sign of love." He stated with a smirk. He left the room before closing the door, a light smile on his face.

Hinata gently smiled, a warmth gathered in her being. It was the same warmth she felt whenever Tsunade pressed a kiss on her forehead. She closed her eyes and leaned back, thankful that she was surrounded by the people she loves.

* * *

"-And that is the Gardens! And I'm done touring you around the palace!" Kakashi clapped his hands in glee.

All Naruto could do is stare distastefully at the Silver haired man who has been dragging him all around the place for a whole waking day. His feet ache, his head hurts, his body feels like it was carrying three sacks of rice for three days and his eyes were drooping for half of the whole trip.

The silver haired man took out his pocket watch. "Ouuuh! It's almost evening already!" he faked a terrified gasp.

The blond looked up and saw that the sky had turned a bright orange signaling sunset, no need for a watch to see that. "…No shit." He sarcastically commented.

"Well, I must go now! I can't miss my book club." He took out his orange lecherous book. "Bye bye!" With that, the silver haired man dashed away with his step obviously enhanced by his lightning chakra. "Tell the Empress that you are ready to start tomorrow!" He shouted as his voice got fainter and fainter.

"GET BACK HERE!" Naruto shouted, an angry vein popping on his forehead. "You haven't taught shit to me!"

Of course, he was ignored and left alone as some servants eyed him in disdain, it seemed to them that another loud mouth has joined the castle's occupants. As if the saints weren't enough…

Naruto looked around and saw the scattering servants who avoided his gaze. He sighed and scratched the back of his neck. He looked around and tried to remember anything that Kakashi had told him.

"Where was the Empress's quarters again?" He asked himself. He kicked himself for not paying attention to Kakashi's only lesson for today, directions.

He saw two court ladies swathed in layers upon layers of kimono. He tried approaching them but they quickly scattered about when they saw him approaching.

He knew that he is scary looking, especially since he hasn't taken a bath and he could feel the dried blood sticking in his clothes, but he ultimately blamed Kakashi for this misfortune. He needs a bath! And some clean clothes.

He experimentally opened one shouji door and was horrified seeing a platinum blonde woman beneath a dark haired pale skin man as they danced the ancient ritual as old as time.

"Ahhhh~" The woman moaned, causing Naruto's face to redden even more. He slowly closed the door, his hands shaking in horror at what he had seen.

"Nooooo! I did not just see that!" He wailed to himself, turning back and saw some servants giggling at his red face. It seems that THAT was normal around here.

He quickly turned around and dashed to the nearest stairs. He ran up to the third floor of the castle and opened the nearest shouji door and closed it.

"That was embarrassing." He told himself, as he loosened the net shirt he is wearing inside of his bamboo designed black and orange yukata.

He opened another shouji door and saw another hall leading further inside the castle. Golden Buddha statutes were placed at every corner. He can see the wealth of the Empire just by looking at the grandeur right in front of him.

"What you looking for, gaki?" A voice asked behind him.

He swung his head back and saw an aged man with white hair walking towards him. He is a tall man with long white hair. Two red strips run from the bottom of his eye to the bottom of his jaw. He is wearing a kabuki outfit that made Naruto question to himself if the guy is a performer.

"Damn, you look like you just woke up from the dead." The man commented after assessing Naruto's looks.

Naruto frowned and flipped a middle finger to the man. "Fuck you."

The man just laughed and thumped Naruto's back causing him to wince. He thanked his freakishly fast immune system which undoubtedly healed his injuries in just three days.

"I like you kid! Doesn't take any shit from anybody! Now, I can send you off to the right path, just tell me where you are going." The man grinned, wrapping an arm around Naruto.

The blond sheepishly smiled. "I-I'm actually looking for the Empress's room."

"Oh! I thought you were looking for the baths, that area is my forte by the way, lots of smooth skin if you know what I mean." The man winked lecherously, a shiver ran down Naruto's spine. "But anyway, the Empress is on the seventh floor, that's the royal quarters. The grandest room is hers." He then pushed the blond away who looked like he had to get away from the man as soon as possible.

Naruto did not even look back at the obvious pervert and just entered and exited a room and made his way to the stairs.

* * *

Jiraiya watched the man's back, his grin turning into a serious expression.

"Sarutobi-sama, you can come out now." He stated.

The shouji door near him opened showing a short old man in ceremonial robes.

"He was here all along? And you didn't tell me? Do you know how this changes everything?" Jiraiya hissed at the old man who joined him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen just folded his arms inside the robes and opened one eye to look at Jiraiya. "I had heard of Heika taking in a bodyguard who was one of the prisoners from the ambush in Sunagakure. I did not expect it to be the boy that we had been looking for. If I knew, I would have begged Heika to let him go. But maybe this is for the best. We cannot hold back fate, Jiraiya-kun."

Jiraiya cursed. All of his life, since the day he had received the letter from Kushina stating that she was being followed by cultists who were after her child, he had been looking for her. He did not know of the child's paternity, but now he can confirm the suspicion that his King is the father of the child. The man is almost the carbon copy of Kumogakure's King! The old man A would be overjoyed having such a strapping young man for a great grandson.

Jiraiya shook his head, he must not reveal the things he knows, not yet anyways. The threats are too dangerous, they still don't know who their allies are.

"I can see that your young King has an heir after all." Hiruzen commented, seeing that his friend has been silenced by his thoughts.

"Yes, he will know. After I confirm where Kushina is. I can't just trust anyone. Not when that boy- no, man- is our last hope." Jiraiya stated.

Hiruzen nodded his head. "Having him near the Empress is very risky. But we can't do anything. This is their fate. And besides, something good could come to this." He stated, rubbing the bottom of his bearded chin.

Jiraiya's eyes widened, he could see the telltale spark of mischief in the shogun's eyes. "Do-Don't tell me? You're matchmaking!" He accused.

The old man laughed and wave his hand. "I'm too old for that- what do youngling's say?- too old for that shit."

* * *

Naruto panted after reaching the seventh floor, he fell to the ground and practically melted.

"Who -pant- ever made –pant- this –pant- castle should be punished!" He cursed, rubbing his sore knees.

His right hand is currently covered in a torn piece of his yukata like a makeshift bandage. The light skin of his right hand enticed people to stare so he opted to cover it. But even with his right hand covered, he is still confused on why he is getting stares. Maybe because he is an outsider?

That doesn't matter though, the only thing that mattered to him now is that he had arrived at the seventh floor and will be facing the Empress. He pushed himself up and pushed his shoulder length blond hair back. He noted to cut the hair later on. He doesn't like it pocking on his eyes and mouth. He also rubbed his chin and noted the stubble growing. He silently thanked whoever sired him for the rare gift of having a beard which grows slowly. He only had to shave once in a month, and it seems that he would have to shave soon.

He glared at his rugged outfit and just muttered a whatever. It is not like the Empress hasn't seen him already.

He went to middle of the hall, which was probably the center of the whole floor, and saw in front of him a large shouji door. The guards waiting there eyed him critically before opening the door. Inside was another shouji door.

"Leave your weapons on the shelves." The Guard stated.

Naruto dutifully untied his katana, which was thankfully returned to him by Kakashi. He placed the katana and his bag on the shelf situated in the corner. He also took of his zori and left it on the side.

Barefooted, he faced the shouji door and opened it. He entered the room.

Sakura trees designed most of the paper walls. Cranes and tigers can also be seen on the walls. It was a traditional room all in all. There are bonsai pots on the corners and other furniture littered the room elegantly.

It was beautiful.

He was about to open his mouth to address himself when one of the shouji doors in the left side of the room opened. He stood there frozen by the spectacle he was seeing.

The Empress came out of the room still in the middle of closing her nagajuban. Her creamy ample breasts bare to Naruto's eyes. One of her porcelain white legs can be seen peeking out whenever she takes a step. She was looking down the whole time as she closed the nagajuban, not noticing the man who watched her as she dressed. Her body was well formed: large breasts, tampered waist, flowing wide hips.

Naruto stood there silently gasping, his face heating up. He tried to think but was too mesmerized by the woman's well-formed body to form any coherent thoughts. A familiar heat spread throughout his body as his member twitched in excitement. It was worse that he was still a bit aroused by the couple he had walked in earlier and now a delectable female body is being presented to him. He spoke the only thing on his mind at the moment.

"You have the biggest breasts I had seen so far." He stated.

Hinata's head snapped to that voice. Her pearly eyes widened and her mouth opened in horror. There on the door is the objects of her thoughts. She had been thinking of calling one of her maids in to tell the royal seamstress, Tamaki, to design a comfortable yukata for her bodyguard.

She stood there, also frozen, as she watched Naruto's red face travel up and down her form. Her face burned in embarrassment, her heart thumping on her chest. With one squeak, her consciousness left her and she fell to the tatami floor.

Naruto's wits came back to him when he saw the Empress faint on her spot. His protective instincts kicked in and rushed to catch the Empress before her head will hit the floor.

"Heika!" He shouted. He cupped her face and gently shook it.

That was the scene that Sakura found. She stood there on the opened shoji door, growing livid by the second. In front of her is Hinata in the arms of a man, unconscious, her nagajuban semi open, her face an unhealthy shade of red. The guards behind Sakura tried to take a peek at the sudden commotion.

"YOOOUUU PEEERVEERT! SHANNAROOO!"

This was not Naruto's lucky day…

* * *

A dark haired man named Tojima groaned. "Damn! The woman in the dungeons is gorgeous! It is so unfair that we are not allowed to touch her!" he whined, moving one of his shoji pieces.

His companion agreed. "Yeah, we could be doing her right now rather than playing this blasted game." He commented, giving a lecherous wink towards his companion.

They are both bored in staying in this abandoned castle with only their fellow cultists as companions.

One cultist wearing the same robe as they are joined their conversation while pouring each one of them a sake. Unlike Tojima and his friend, this one has his hood up.

"Where is the Master? Maybe you could sneakily go down the dungeons and use this woman to your liking." The newly arrived man stated.

Tojima grinned. "That's right! Madara-kami is not here! Nobody will tell, we could all just share her!" he rubbed his hands together in excitement.

His companion beamed and took out a ring of keys. "I've got the keys! Let's go tell Kaiji and the others!"

They both drowned the cup in one gulp and stood up. Before they could take another step, they both literally dropped dead on the floor.

"It seems that I came here in the wrong time." The hooded figure stated. He raised his head showing the handsome face of Itachi. "But this prisoner in the dungeons interests me more."

He then took the keys from the corpse and left the sake bottle on the abandoned shoji board. He descended undetected to the first floor of the castle, avoiding the cultists. There is about ten cultists inside the castle, two at every floor. He got the ground floor, the floor above the dungeons. He snuffed out one of the candles and hid between the gaps between the walls and waited. He used the darkness of the night as a cover.

As expected, one of the two men in the ground floor came to check the snuffed out light.

"Didn't know it was windy in here." The man murmured as he took out a match to light the candle.

Before the man can strike the match, Itachi had already buried his dagger on the man's throat. The man made a loud gurgle which caught the attention of the other guard, who rushed to check on the sound. Itachi hid on the corner of the hall and waited for the second guard to pass by before tripping him and stabbing his head with the dagger. This all happened within a minute.

Itachi ran down the dungeons and saw that the dungeons are designed like solitary confinements. He ignored the torture devices on the side of the floor and started opening each dungeon doors. He made sure to do this as silently as possible.

Each dungeon showed an empty smelly room with a skeleton or two. He reached the fifth jail and opened it, showing a lone figure chained in on the wall. Crimson hair covered her but Itachi can see the bruises on her abnormally thin wrists.

"I would never tell you his name…" She croaked out before letting out a cough.

"Tell me whose name?" Itachi asked.

The woman's head snapped up. Itachi saw a beautiful battered woman whose eyes were too hollow and had clearly seen the horrors of the world.

"Wh-Who are you? Y-You look l-l-like him." She croaked out.

Itachi cringed. He knows that he shares his some of his father's appearance. "I am here to help you. Formal introductions can be done later. We must leave this place before they discover the bodies."

The woman looked confused, but did not say anything as the man before her approached her. He might look like Madara, with the dark hair and eyes, but the man looked warmer, gentler than the older one.

Much to Kushina's confusion and horror, the young man blew out a familiar black flame which melted the chains binding her to the wall. One conclusion came into her mind.

"You are his son." She whispered in horror, suddenly apprehensive.

Itachi closed his eyes. "I may be his son, but he is not my father." He hissed.

Kushina can see it in his eyes then. She knows that this young man had seen the horrors that his father can do. In fact, just like her, he had felt it. He can understand her suffering.

Itachi laced his arms beneath the woman's knees and her back as he carried her out of the dungeon. She was so weak that she could not even stand on her own. Itachi can see that the woman's lips is cracked and she is showing the signs of dehydration. She needs water and food.

The moment he stepped out of the stairs from the dungeons, a commotion signaled that the bodies had been found and his cover was blown.

"THERE HE IS!" A voice shouted from the corner of the hall.

Itachi gathered his chakra in his throat and blew towards the hall. Black fire torched the wooden ceiling. Itachi ran fast as the fire quickly spread. Upon running down the wooden stairs of the castle's entrance, he pursed his lips and blew a whistle, a mare came galloping in from the forest to do her Master's bidding.

Itachi and an unconscious Kushina rode away from the castle which was now engulfed in black flames.

* * *

AN: Thank you for the wait everyone! I was gonna post this in my birthday last 29 but things got a little bit hectic. :D But here it is!

It is so good to not see me end a chapter without a cliffhang two time in a row, so refreshing...

Thanks you so much to gio08! My beta and co-author who has been helping a lot! Thank you so so much to your reviews! Reviews are like coals that fuels the fire... And now i have the urge to do a cliffhang...

Edited: To those who are wondering what the pairings are, please check my profile and you would know... Why Sasuke and Sakura are tagged? Because the two of them are part of the main characters. Sasuke is very important to the plot and so is Saakura. My tagging is not influenced by the pairings in the story itself. And please be patient with me. Things will make sense later on.


	5. Chapter 4

"She's very weak Itachi-kun. It will take months until she would recover. Her body can't even hold her own weight."

The woman shifted her gaze from the unconscious red head on the bed to Itachi, who was leaning on the door of the room. The woman was better known as Uchiha Izumi, Itachi's partner and wife. She is a beautiful woman with long brunette hair. Her skin is a shade paler than Itachi's own and a beauty mark dons the right corner of her right eye. For years, the two of them had traveled together as a part of the Imperial spy agency. They are the best spies the Empire has. Although the two of them had been traveling together, both knew that they longed to settle down and raise a family.

Itachi shifted his foot. "So we would have to stay here until she is well enough to travel?"

Izumi smiled, an image that could melt Itachi's battered heart. "For her sake, dear."

With that, her husband wordlessly left the room and left her to take care of the rescued prisoner. Izumi focused her attention to the lady in question. Hours earlier, her husband caused a huge commotion in the inn when he barged in with an unconscious and smelly lady in hand. The Inn's owner immediately called for a healer as they prepared a hot bath and a soft bed for the red head. Izumi was the one who bathed the lady, the lady was suffering extreme dehydration. Izumi was afraid that she wouldn't make it. Much to her relief, the water had seeped into the red-head's body, indicating that she had water chakra and is very much in harmony with the water. The only problem was that the lady remained unconscious to this hour and probably would still be for days.

She unconsciously stirred the porridge that she had made. It was no secret that Itachi had gone to the abandoned castle, and that the castle at this moment was still burning by his black fire. Whispers had already passed from ear to ear and it won't take long for their cover to be blown. She had already sent a crow to the head of the Spy department of the Empire, Obito, to tell the Empress of their find. She would later discuss with Itachi on where they could go next. They need a safe place to revive the red-haired woman. Especially when she's has a hunch that this woman is very important.

She suddenly felt his returning presence. She slowly turned her head and found him standing there with a hawk on his shoulders. She smiled at him.

"Sasuke-kun sent you something?" She asked.

A rare soft smile bloomed on Itachi's face. "He told me that he is staying in Konoha at the moment."

Izumi's heart soared at her husband's expression. She knows just how important family is to Itachi. She also knows the secret that he had been keeping from the world, fearing of what will happen if that secret got out.

"Tell him that you're alright dear. He must be worried." She stated, placing the bowl of porridge on the end table. She walked towards her husband and caressed his cheek before placing a kiss.

"He knows that what I'm doing is for the sake of a brighter future. I will do anything for my family." He admitted. His wife is the only person who had seen this softer side of him. Even Sasuke hasn't heard those words coming out of his lips. Only his beloved Izumi can melt his heart this much that he would bare everything to her.

Izumi's eyes watered. So many nights that she had wept for this tortured man, she had wept that this man couldn't even claim his own family, for the fear of what might befallen to them once his father finds out.

"You are a great brother." She simply said and captured his lips in a searing kiss.

* * *

"Oh! You look so handsome!" The woman declared in glee as she flipped her light brown hair to the side. She eyed the man before her with satisfaction.

Naruto grinned, his cheeks reddened in embarrassment. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head at the compliment. This woman named Tamaki sure can make an attractive kimono for him. The Kimono she designed has a simple burnt orange top with kitsune designs on the sleeves. His obi has black and orange stripes, which was currently tied on his hips. The hakama is an attractive shade of charcoal black that seems to be shimmering when he moves. In addition to that, he has a haori which has no sleeves. On the back of the haori lies the Imperial crest of a golden spiral leaf. His right hand was now wrapped by proper bandages. He had been given several copies of the kimono in case if he tears the other ones. The best thing about the outfit is the fact that he can move easily.

He practiced some katas in front of the mirror and nodded his head in approval when he was able to do complicated styles. Tamaki stared at him in awe.

"I see the Empress chose a good bodyguard! Not only handsome, but skilled too. Those katas are from Sunakagure, you must be from there." Tamaki said while picking up some of the rejected kimonos.

Naruto scratched one cheek. "Oh, I stayed there for a couple of years. But I am more of a drifter than anything else."

The woman was shocked. "A drifter? With the imminent war? I'm amazed you managed to survive. Most people tend to stay in their villages now that Momoshiki has returned."

The blond did a double take, his brow creased. "So it's true then? Madara being Momoshiki's reincarnation."

Tamaki sighed. This subject is particularly sensitive amongst the people of the Capital. "He pretty much is. The Momoshiki worshippers herald him as a God. And he had been powerful enough to defeat Emperor Hashirama who was said to be the most powerful man in his time."

Seeing her frown, Naruto did not say anything else.

"Please don't mention Madara in front of her majesty unless she addresses him first. Things had been so hard for her. Since the day she took the crown at the age of sixteen, she has been working nonstop to bring justice to Madara's door. She's spent most of her time inside her office. And when she does leave that place, it is to join her Saints in their posts to discuss military tactics." She said.

All Naruto can do is nod his head. He had heard of the Empress's almost obsessive pursuit for Madara's head. In his travels, he had seen the growing conflict between the cultists and the Imperial forces. It baffles him how the cultists can hide from the Imperial army, when they are practically everywhere.

"By the way, what happened to your cheek?" Tamaki asked pointing to Naruto's swollen left cheek.

A shiver ran through Naruto's spine, remembering the awfully strong right jab that pink haired woman gave him earlier that day. He had almost been outright murdered, if it weren't for the Empress waking up and stopping the pink whirlwind. Naruto had never been so awed and scared in his life.

The woman, named Sakura, who is also a saint by what Naruto can remember, let him go and had practically fawned over the Empress. If Naruto wasn't so scared of her during that time, he would have stopped to admire her beauty and uniqueness. It was so lucky for him to be in the presence of two overtly attractive women.

The shouji door suddenly opened and Tamaki's lady seamstresses' bowed at the newcomer. Tamaki herself bowed when she saw her, while Naruto was too busy pitying his left cheek to notice.

"Thank you for making the kimono in such a short amount of time, Tamaki-san." The newcomer gently stated.

A blush bloomed on Tamaki's cheeks. "It was nothing, your Majesty." She bowed once again.

Naruto turned around, hearing the honorific. There he saw the Empress in a loose lavender yukata. Her long hair tumbled to the ground, unbraided and free. As always, there was an air of elegance wafting through her. The Empress suddenly met his gaze and, dare he say, shyly turned away.

"Please leave us alone for a moment." She asked the seamstresses.

The ladies left the room silently. Naruto took the time to compose himself. Why does the Empress have to be so damn beautiful?

Hinata turned to the blond and she almost bit her tongue. He had been washed and his face was free from any blemishes, aside from his scars and a slight swell on the left cheek. His long golden hair tumbled down on his shoulders, but she can see the spikes sticking stubbornly out of his head. He was handsome, with his long slightly crooked nose and sharp jaw. His eyes are wide and slightly round, but oh-so blue, that Hinata had to remind herself that she's staring at the eyes of a man instead of the sky. She can feel a blush blooming on her cheeks. If she would have been a bit coherent at that moment, she would have noticed that he also resembles one of the castle's current occupants.

"M-may I know your name?" She asked politely, hoping that she sounded like a woman with authority and not a swooning teen.

The blond grinned at her, she had to momentarily close her eyes to not be blinded by his bright smile. And she thought that no one could best Lee and Gai's blinding smiles.

"Naruto! The name's Naruto!" He exclaimed and held out a hand without thinking.

Hinata stared at his outstretched hand and slowly connected her palm to his. Much to her shock, her heart skipped a beat and a sudden feeling of electricity ran through her. She had to quickly retract her hand to end the overwhelming feeling.

It seemed that Naruto had felt it too. With his heart beating so fast, he scratched the back of his head and had to look away.

"Just Naruto?" Hinata asked, cupping her hand closer to her erratic heart. She silently blamed her old crush for this feeling. So what if the man had been her old crush? It was old, it was supposed to be gone, right? It is silly that she had a crush on him and she didn't even know his name.

Naruto had to swallow a nervous lump on his throat. He had always been secretive about his last name. But this is the Empress, lying to her would mean death.

"U-U-Uzumaki." He stated nervously.

Hinata's pearly white eyes widened. "Uzumaki? Are you somehow related to the first Empress Mito?" She asked, leaning closer to him.

Unbeknownst to Hinata, she was giving Naruto a close up view of her generous cleavage. Images of her creamy breasts flashed on his mind.

'I'mnotapervert, I'mnotapervert, I'mnotapervert, I'mnotapervert, I'mnotapervert,' Naruto chanted in his head as blood surge on his lower head at the delectable sight.

Hinata, oblivious to the show she's giving, grew confused at his constipated kind of look.

"Uzumaki-san? Are you alright?" She worriedly asked and leaned closer.

Naruto almost had a heart attack then and there when he caught a waft of the lavender sent the Empress had on her being. His hands twitched at his sides, those were not the only things twitching though.

"I'm not rela'tits' to her!" He exclaimed, then slapped both his hands on his mouth when he realized the mistake he just made. There goes his life…

Fortunately for him, the cultured Empress remained oblivious to the modern Neologism that people her age uses now a days and just waved off the mistake.

"Oh, you must be somewhat related to her though. Chichihue once told me that the Uzumaki family are only a handful, but scattered around the globe." She stated, putting a dainty hand on her chin.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief and almost melted to the ground. "I-I-I must be. I don't know." He stated in a hurry, aching to change the subject as fast as he can.

The Empress took the bait and changed the subject. "Tomorrow you will spar with me. You are supposed to start the day after tomorrow, but Kakashi-san told me just now that he thinks you are capable enough to protect me." She took a step back. "I want to test your skills myself and I want to see how the Yang chakra works."

And that made Naruto even more nervous.

'Shit! I can't tell her that I don't know how to use it! I'm not even sure if I truly have that! This is impossible! I can't have two chakra natures! Oh, Nine beasts help me!' He silently prayed on his mind.

With nothing else to do, he nodded his head and smiled sheepishly. He was rewarded with a gentle smile that did things to his heart.

"You will rest outside of my room. They had already prepared a comfortable futon for you." Hinata stated turning around, knowing that the blond would follow her.

Naruto unconsciously followed the Empress. "Thank you Heika." He stated.

Hinata pressed a hand on her chest. "Call me Hinata. You are now one of my subordinates, I prefer being called by my name."

Touched by her humbleness, Naruto couldn't help but smile sincerely. It seems that there is more to this Empress than her beauty.

"Understood, Hinata-heika."

Hinata did her best to ignore the urge to squeal like a fangirl.

* * *

Shikamaru yawned without even bothering to cover his mouth. His sleep had been short and uneventful. He had stayed up late last night when a sudden call was addressed to him by his father, who was currently staying at Sunakagure with Shikamaru's bride to be. It seems that his wedding has been moved again and now he will be a married man by the end of the month.

He can't blame his fiancée though. With the cultists getting stronger and stronger by the day, his beloved Temari was getting more worried. Of course he received an earful from her, but she ultimately broke down and confessed her fears for his life. Last night, he sent a message that he agreed on the change of date and would marry Sunakagure's Princess by the end of the month. That ought to liven things up.

He was currently walking on the castle's first floor balcony and was heading to the sixth floor, where the Empress's office is located.

"Look! The Empress and her new bodyguard!" One court lady exclaimed.

Shikamaru did a double take and noticed the growing throng of people in the balcony.

"The Empress sure looks like she can protect him better than he can protect himself!" One of the men chuckled.

Curious, Shikamaru decided to check it out. He saw a dark figure in the far end of the balcony and decided to join the man.

The man was currently donning a black turtleneck sweater and jeans. He looked so out of place amongst the kimono clad court ladies. His modern outfit told you that he was about to leave the Palace in a few hours.

"Enjoying the show?" Shikamaru asked the man as he put his elbows on the railing and peaked down.

He can understand now why the people are so interested on what was happening below. Down there is the vast training grounds, usually occupied by trainees from the Academy. This morning it seems, the training grounds was occupied by a sparring pair who in turn was being watched by the trainees and some people of the court.

Shikamaru can see the blond bodyguard holding a wooden Tachi and parrying every attack from the Empress, who was holding two wooden katanas. Some people would have said that this seems to be an unfair play. But to the critical eye, Shikamaru can see that the Empress is testing her bodyguard if he can defend himself from more than one opponent. The Empress is a master double sword wielder, she is ambidextrous and people who had fought her had said that it was like fighting two opponents at the same time.

He watched the Empress brought one katana from the upper left downward, which the blond parried and the Empress brought her other hand to a sideways slash. The blond kicked the Empress in the stomach, causing some people to wince before somersaulting backwards. The Empress looked unshaken and composed herself before lunging in once again.

"That man… Does he really have Yang Chakra?" The man beside Shikamaru asked.

Shikamaru tore his attention away from the spar to look at Kirigakure's King. She had told him the other day of her new bodyguard.

"That's what they said. He regenerated his hand, you know." Shikamaru commented. He could see the blonde's right arm covered with bandages.

Sasuke shifted his foot. "He moves like he is one with the wind…" He simply stated.

Shikamaru squinted his eyes at the blond. True enough, the blonde's moves are agile, quick, but clearly packs some power, like a whirlwind. The way he dodges looks like he is creating ripples in the wind. If Kakashi hadn't told them about the blonde's chakra nature, he would have thought that his chakra nature was wind.

"You think Kakashi-san had lied to us?" He asked the King.

Sasuke just continued to stare at the blond whirlwind sword playing with the Empress. The more he studied the blond, the more he is convinced that something else is at play here.

"I don't trust him." He simply stated monotonously.

Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders and fished out a cigar. "Kakashi-san knows better than to lie. He might be a bit of a slob, but he is not a liar. You can feel it too right? The shift." He asked as Sasuke clicked his fingers and a deep violet fire formed on the tip of his pointer finger. Sasuke used that fire to light up Shikamaru's cigar.

Sasuke knew what Shikamaru is talking about. Since four days ago, something was altered. There was a shift in the elements. Like something was set into place. Something inevitable. He had been thinking that Madara must have done something to cause the shift. But the shift also happened the moment the blond was introduced to them together with the deceased Momoshiki officer… Coincidence?

Much to Sasuke's confusion, the pineapple head beside him started chuckling.

"Ha! This war had made us all paranoid. There is also the possibility that the newcomer is nothing out of the ordinary at all. Just an innocent passerby who got caught in all of these madness." He stated, taking a whiff of his cigar. "We even ignored the fact that the guy looks like Minato-denka!"

Sasuke gave a smirk. Oh, he did notice that little detail. In fact, that's one of the reasons why he stayed for am extra day in the Capital. He was half hoping that the great King of Kumogakure will come across the look alike. He was interested in what will happen. But unfortunately, the King had been as elusive as he is. And now he needed to get back to his kingdom, such an uneventful week for him.

Two more presences suddenly joined the two dark haired men.

"Look at the Empress! She looks like she's having fun! That's good, she had been cooped up in her office for too long." The blonde woman stated. She flipped the platinum blonde bangs which covered her other eye and gave Sasuke an amused look. "Oh! You are still here Sasuke-denka."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and ignored the blonde woman. Ino on the other hand grew more amused. She and Shikamaru were the only ones who knew about Sasuke's relationship to the pink haired saint. Ino was still slightly irritated by the whole situation. She's mad at Sakura for leaving the dark haired King without even settling the whole thing and she's mad at Sasuke for being so damn secretive about his feelings. This whole thing between the two had been the topic between the saints, with them ending up betting on who will crack first: Sasuke? Sakura? Or even the Empress? Is the Empress even part of this whole love drama affair?

Sai laid a possessive arm on his lover's waist but kept his attention towards the sparring pair. "That's the guy with the Yang chakra nature? He looks ordinary to me." He commented with his usual creepy smile.

The blonde woman decided to tease her lover and sighed dreamily at the blond below. "I dunno about you guys, but he looks absolutely delectable to me. Seems like Sasuke-denka is going to have a rival on the 'handsomest man of the year' poll."

Sasuke gave an irritated grunt that was mistaken as a grunt of approval.

"See? Even Sasuke-denka approves! I didn't know you swing that way, Sasuke-denka~?" Ino teased.

Sai, who was supposed to get jealous, looked like he was trying his best to keep a straight face. Shikamaru on the other hand, looked thoroughly amused.

The man in question, on the other hand, looked like he could kill someone with his glare. Sasuke ultimately decided to just ignore the teasing lady.

"Wow! So this is what the commotion is all about. That pervert better not do anything fishy like copping up a feel! I better beat some more sense into him- shannaroo!" A pink haired lady butted in, not even noticing one particular King that she had been trying to avoid.

"Oh, so it was you who was shouting yesterday. What happened?" Sai asked for Ino, since the blonde looked like she was about to burst into laughter at Sakura's great timing. Even better that Sakura hadn't noticed Sasuke yet.

Sakura's attention was still grounded on the sparring pair who had abandoned their wooden katanas and were fighting hand in hand. "I prefer not to say anything for Heika's discretion, but let us just say that he deserves to be burnt alive." She finally turned her head to her companions. "Also that idiot wa-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKK!"

Ino could not hold on to her laughter any longer and bursts into fits the moment Sakura shrieked, seeing Sasuke's stoic face. Shikamaru had to pull out his cigar to avoid inhaling too much smoke. Sai looked absolutely happy. The other occupants of the balcony diverted their attention and focused in on them.

Sakura's face looked like a healthy harvest of tomato that was about to burst. If Lee was there, he would have agreed that Sakura looked too youthful to be deemed safe. Not being able to handle the situation any longer, Sakura dutifully excused herself and dashed out of sight without even looking back, leaving a laughing Ino, an amused Shikamaru, a more amused Sai and a troubled Sasuke.

Ino on the other hand couldn't help but laugh more, seeing the dark haired King stare at Sakura's generous bum as she walked away from them.

"Aren't you going to chase after her?" Sai asked towards the King, not bothering to act polite.

"Oh Darling, his highness doesn't swing that way. He prefers the blond below." Ino teased. Some people might have found this offensive, that Ino's teasing a figure leagues above her station, but to those who know just how the saints acts, they would find this normal and amusing.

Sasuke just glared at the amused couple and decided to just bail. They watched the King walk to the opposite way to where Sakura had made her hasty escape.

Sai did not let go of his smile and placed his chin above Ino's head while spooning her from behind. "Was he really interested in 'Ugly' before? Even now?" he asked.

His lover chuckled at his nickname for Sakura.

"Oh, I remained tight lipped during the whole ordeal. But it is no secret that something happened to the both of them. Especially after that one time Sakura came running to me thinking that she might be pregnant. It was a false alarm, but that kinda confirmed everything for me." Ino stated, twirling one lock of platinum blonde hair in her fingers.

Shikamaru chuckled. "He should have worn baggier pants. It was getting tighter and tighter the longer he stared at Sakura's ass."

Ino once again burst into laughter joined by Sai's chuckles.

* * *

Sakura pressed a knuckle to her beating heart. She let out a sigh of relief when she noticed that he was not following her. She pressed a hand to her lips and let her mind wonder for a bit. He was as handsome as the last time she had graced his presence back in Kirigakure, maybe even more. He was still lean and muscular. His eyes still as soul-searching and dark as ever. She remembered staring into them as they made love in his gigantic bed back in Kirikagure. She shook her head and cursed her thoughts. No need to bring back the past. She is now a new woman. She deserves better than becoming a King's mistress.

"Sakura-sama! I had finally found you!"

She swiveled her head and found her new elderly assistant. She felt guilty that she had ultimately forgotten about him.

"Takashiro-san? What's the matter?" She addressed him.

Takashiro pushed some aching bones to its place before telling the General of his message.

"Sakura-sama! Orochimaru-sama urgently calls for your presence in the lab! It is about the confidential mission." He stated.

Sakura's face turned serious, gone was her blush. She switched into her General mode.

"Take me to him"

* * *

A missed beat was what it took to disarm Naruto. He winced when the Empress's wooden katana made contact with his sides. A round of applause engulfed the area as the Empress bested her opponent.

"As expected of her majesty!" Someone cat called.

He continued to wince, not because of Hinata's attack, but because of his aching right hand. Half way through their spar, his hand had started aching and he could swear red blotches had seeped out of the bandages. He went down to his knees and checked his dominant hand. True enough, the bandage on his palm was bloody.

"Uzumaki-san? Are you okay?" A soft voice called.

Naruto raised his head and saw the Empress, clad in her training gi and her hair tied in a thick braid behind her, walking towards him with a worried expression on her face.

He gave her a pained smirk as he slowly untied the bandages, mindful of his own pain.

"I'm okay. I think I re-opened my wound." He stated. It was a bit peculiar. He had always been a very fast healer. Maybe this has something to do with his almost drained chakra system. It had been slowly backing up, but not enough for him to use.

Hinata kneeled in front of the blond. She had noticed that he was getting sloppier the longer they had sparred. She had to give it to him though, his skills was in league with that of the Generals. This of course, shocked her at first. How come she never heard about him. Surely a man with his skills should have been known somewhere. She took note to ask him where he had learned his swordsmanship later on.

The moment he took off the bloodied bandages, Hinata resisted the urge to wince. The lighter skin had reddened. His skin was wrinkled and scratches littered the hand. It looked like the skin had been strained so much that it had ripped itself off, like a thin paper. Hinata felt guilty, she didn't hold back sparring with the skilled man.

"It looks painful." Hinata stated, biting the bottom of her lip as she took his hand and brought it closer to her for inspection.

Naruto could not resist but to stare at Hinata's plump lips. Her biting her bottom lip surely looked so seductive. He had to snap himself out of the daze.

One trainee who had drifted closer to the pair investigated. "Shall I call a healer, your majesty?" He asked.

The girl beside the trainee elbowed him for speaking without permission. But as always, the benevolent Empress did not mind the insubordination and thanked the trainee.

"Thank you, but there is no need to call for one." She then turned to Naruto. "Uzumaki-san, please follow me." She stated as she stood up.

The trainee's eyes visibly widened hearing Naruto's last name, they ultimately bowed to him too, probably thinking that he was related to the first late Empress.

Hinata waved off one maid who was about to drape a haori over her. She nodded her head to the foreseeing instructor who called the trainees to gather to continue their katas. The servants bowed to her and left her by her command. She led Naruto around the courtyard to the mildly forested area of the castle grounds. Trees had already started shedding their leaves, awaiting winter. She led him to an enclosed area filled with yellow and brown bushes and in the middle of the area is a fountain. The fountain has a statue of a naked woman tipping the giant sakazuki where the water flowed in a loop.

"In spring, this place is filled with flowers. Chichihue used to bring me here and read to me stories of the past." She stated reminiscently.

Naruto held his aching hand as he gaped at the area's natural beauty. Even in the late fall, the place is clearly beautiful. He stopped for a while to bask in the cold air of fall. He closed his eyes and looked up on the rising sun, liking the mixture of warmth and coldness that the nature was giving off. The rays of the rising sun slightly battled with the chill from the wind. The wind whispered to him, welcoming his presence like they always do. Unbeknownst to him, the earth also whispered to him. So did the water and all of creation. But their voices went unheard. Not yet…

Hinata's eyes widened at the spectacle before her. The rays of the sun bounced off the man's blond locks, giving it a golden glow. His bronze skin, his gentle smile, Hinata could only breathlessly stare at him as the wind licked the tips of his spikes. He looked almost ethereal to Hinata's eyes. Like a sun God who decided to walk amongst men.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"U-uzumaki-san?" She breathlessly called.

And the magic was gone. The wind stopped blowing and it was like time moved once again. He opened his eyes and sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry!" He apologized, giving Hinata a wide grin.

Hinata looked away, trying to cover her blush. "I-It must be your Yang chakra calling out to nature." She murmured, loud enough for him to hear.

Naruto cocked his head to the side. "Huh?"

Hinata shook her head, her cheeks still red. "No-nothing. Let's clean your hand Uzumaki-san. The water from this fountain comes from the spring underneath the castle, it is clean."

The blond stumbled towards the Empress, his shit eating grin ever present. He let the Empress lead him to the fountain. He watched her dip the bloodied bandages and rub them together to clear out the blood. The clean rag was used to wipe his wounds. Up close, he noticed the blemishes on her face. There is dirt on her cheeks and the corner of her eyes are a lot darker than he expected. She has not been sleeping properly. This woman isn't just a figure head to the Empire, she is the Empress who works even at night. He had always thought that the royals spent their days lounging on their beds. It seems that he would be mistaken.

"Uzumaki-san… Your Yang chakra, what does it do?" Hinata asked.

Naruto visibly tensed, beads of sweats formed on his forehead. "Hehehe, m-maybe I could just show you next time. My chakra has been drained it seems." He lied, scratching one of the scars on his cheek.

Hinata narrowed her eyes. "Uzumaki-san, are you not telling me something?"

Naruto suddenly pulled his hand away as he waved his hand in denial. "No I-oww!"

The Empress watched the blond wince as he cursed himself for being too rash. She giggled in her hand. An idea bloomed into her mind. It would be so interesting figuring him out.

"Where did you learn your swordsmanship?" She diverted the topic.

Naruto gave her his hand and she continued cleaning it. "In Suna. I stayed at the Sunaarashi Dojo for most of my teenage years."

Hinata's eyes widened in awe. "You were Yashamaru-sama's student? No wonder you are so agile and light! You are trained under Gaara-san's Uncle!"

It was no secret that the Sunaarashi dojo was the best kenjutsu dojo out there for people with Wind chakra nature. It was said that the students of that dojo are almost one with the wind because of their mastery in the arts of wind manipulation. This further confused Hinata though, what was he doing in a wind chakra dojo when he has yang chakra nature? So mysterious…

"I don't want to boast though. But Sunaarashi is not the first dojo I had trained in, just the longest." Naruto explained, shrugging his shoulders. He had stayed in numerous dojos and brothels during his travels. Those were the only places he could find a decent job as either a janitor or a bartender. But the Sunaaarashi Dojo was the last and longest dojo that he had stayed into. Probably the only place he could call home during those years.

Hinata wasn't sure if her eyes could widen even further. "You are a drifter? A real live drifter? At this age?" She practically swooned as she held his hand to her chest and her eyes shined with admiration.

The blond couldn't help but blush at the Empress' patronizing tone. "Yeah! I'm best at what I do." He simply stated. But the urge to brag was not far away from his head.

"Please tell me some stories of your travels!" She practically commanded, much to Naruto's amusement.

Soon the pair drifted to a comfortable conversation, where Naruto animatedly acted all of his stories while Hinata struggled to roll on the bandage that she had dried up for him using her fire and giggling in the process. To some who had come across the scene, they would say that the two looked like they had known each other for a long, long time.

* * *

"Konoha looks so beautiful in the fall!" Minato exclaimed in awe, looking at the vibrant yellow, brown and red colors of the season. He is currently dressed in his riding outfit which consists of a loose black hakama and a casual blue kimono topped with a samurai's jinbaori designed with lightning bolts. He had decided to check out the palace gardens before he would leave the Capital.

"We look forward to your next visit, Minato-denka." Kakashi, who decided to accompany the King, stated.

Minato smiled gently at the young man before him. Oh how kids grow… It seemed like yesterday when he saw Kakashi being born and his old friend Sakumo was still alive and kicking to bounce his beloved squalling newborn son to sleep. A pang of sadness gripped his heart. Sakumo had been a good senpai of his. His suicide greatly affected the people who had come to care for him. It had been extra hard for Kakashi, who was orphaned during those dark days after Emperor Hashirama's assassination.

"You take care of yourself, Kakashi-kun." He placed an affectionate hand on Kakashi's silver head. "Say Hi for Obito-kun and Rin-chan for me! Tell them I haven't forgotten about my Goddaughter. She would receive the best jewels I could find!" Minato stated, thinking about Obito and Rin's little daughter, who keeps calling him Dada, much to Obito's jealousy.

"You are spoiling the brat." Kakashi stated affectionately. Like he doesn't spoil the girl himself. Minato laughed.

One of his subjects approached the King and bowed to him. "Minato-denka, it is time for us to go." The woman stated with her head bowed in respect.

Nodding his head towards Kakashi, Minato was about to depart when he heard a rather obnoxious laugh and gentler giggle. He swiveled his head to the direction of the inner gardens and saw two figures in the distance. He could make out the female as the Empress, while the male is unknown to him. The only thing he could see is a shock off blond hair as vibrant as his. For some odd reason, his heart tightened.

"Who's that?" He whispered, his attention still glued to the pair.

Kakashi's brows rose. "Oh, that's Naruto, Heika's new bodyguard." He stated. His tone is that of a man who knows something that Minato doesn't know.

"Believe me-ttebayooooo!" The young man talking to Empress whined in the distance, as the Empress continued to giggle nonstop. Minato's heart skipped a beat hearing that verbal tic.

Images of a beautiful red haired woman that he loved so much flashed in his mind. He suddenly felt his mouth going dry. Hope bloomed in his heart. Only one woman had that similar kind of verbal tic.

"T-Tha-Tha" He stuttered, as he tried to make sense of what was happening. He needed to talk to that man.

"Minato-denka. The dowager King calls for your return immediately…" The attendant once again called for him.

He sent a desperate look towards Kakashi, who just nodded his head, understanding what Minato wanted to say.

"I will make sure that he visits Kumokagure, Minato-denka." Kakashi simply said, slightly bowing his head.

Minato swallowed the lump on his throat and bowed gratefully towards the silver haired man. He nodded to his attendant, who led the way towards his carriage. He sent one last look to the pair, his heart growing more confused and hopeful with every step.

* * *

The moment Sakura's foot touched the ground, a blue haired man took her arm and led her away from the carriage. Her assistant stayed in the carriage, like he always did.

"Come! This is most urgent!" the man exclaimed.

"Suigetsu! Slow down!" Sakura exclaimed, almost tripping on a rock.

This is the first time that Sakura saw the usually cheerful and sassy Suigetsu this serious. He hadn't even sent a single grin her way. Suigetsu is one of Orochimaru's apprentices. He met her in Kirigakure back when he was still working under the Queen. Much to her shock, the second time she saw him again was when she was called by Orochimaru to help on the medicinal supplements the researcher had been developing.

They entered a chamber, where she was required to take a shower, change her clothes to a sanitary lab gown and the instant the door to the lab opened Sakura saw everyone just running around in hurry.

"What's happening Suigetsu?" Sakura asked, dumbfounded.

Suigetsu bit his bottom lip as he led Sakura to where Orochimaru is. "It all started this dawn when the spies arrived."

Sakura jerked her arm away from his grip. "Spies? Have you guys been sending spies out without Heika's knowledge?" She accused.

The blue haired man shrugged his shoulders. "I only follow orders, Sakura-chan. I'm pretty sure the Empress knows, I hope."

They had arrived to another round door and waited for the guards to open the door for them.

Sakura's temper started flailing. "I'm gonna have a word with your commanding officer." She hissed as she crossed her arms on her chest.

The door opened. Inside are three people surrounding a table. On the sides, the machines beeped in urgency. A distinct beat engulfed the room. A beat that suspiciously sounded like a beating heart coming from one of the machines.

"This is very interesting." One man said.

Sakura observed the three people before him. All of them are wearing the same clothes as she is. One man though, stood out amongst the people. At first glance, you would be confused whether he is a woman or a man. He had long hair and a pretty face. His eyes though, resembles that of a snake. He is Orochimaru, the lead researcher of the Empire.

The man seems to have noticed Sakura's presence and addressed her.

"Sakura-chan. Finally you have arrived." The man practically purred.

The two people with him turned towards Sakura. She can see that they are familiar. She deduced that they might be the spies that Orochimaru had sent somewhere.

"Close the door Suigetsu-kun. Make sure no one listening." Orochimaru commanded as Suigetsu closed the door and stood right beside it, looking at the peephole now and again.

"Spies, Orochimaru?" Sakura hissed as she stomped her way towards him.

The man smiled prettily at her. "Oh, Sakura-chan. You don't have to worry, her majesty knows of them. Although she may have not agreed in their ways, but their efforts had been rewarded. kukuku"

Sakura huffed a breath. "When will you follow orders Orochimaru?"

The man just waved a dismissive hand. "Oh we have more pressing matters to attend to. Come, we have something to show you."

He led Sakura to the table. There a single jar stands. Wires are connected to the jar. Inside the jar is a greenish liquid. And much to Sakura's surprise, inside is a beating heart.

"Have you ever wondered why Madara had become so powerful over only a decade or so? His rise to power sure is suspicious isn't it?" The only other woman beside Sakura asked.

Sakura turned her head towards the woman. She's a beauty herself, with spiky red hair and sooty eyes. She is wearing red eye glasses that made her look like a woman of intelligence.

"We have seen ourselves how powerful he is. We barely managed to leave the cult undetected." A gentler voice stated. The owner of the voice is a large muscular man.

Sakura's eye widened. "You are the ones who came to the capital with Sai." She pointed to them.

"I'm Karin." The red head pointed to herself. "And that is Juugo. We had been playing spies for you guys." She sassily flipped a hair back.

Suigetsu rolled his eyes at the woman, but kept quiet. Karin and her alpha attitude.

"We returned to the cult to fetch something that may be quite valuable to you guys." Juugo explained.

"You should thank us for risking our li-"

"That's enough Karin." Juugo gently stopped the red head, who huffed and crossed her arms in return.

Sakura studied the Jar. "You took a beating heart. How is this rele-"

"Look closer Sakura-chan. Not only is this heart beating but-" Orochimaru opened the jar and took out the heart causing the machines to fall into a monotonous tone. Orochimaru took a scalpel and gently sliced a piece of the heart and gave it to Sakura.

Sakura took the piece and studied it. It was red in color but something was off. The moment the flesh touched her skin, a hum rang through her body. The flesh emitted a soft green glow. She let out a gasp.

"Chakra! This flesh has chakra! Is it the reason why it is still beating?" Sakura asked.

"There you go! She finally confirmed that it is chakra." Suigetsu commented, flailing his hands. "Holy shit."

"Tell us more Sakura-chan." Orochimaru commanded.

Sakura studied the flesh much closer. "Strange, the chakra I can feel is not specific." She commented.

"Not specific, must be because it holds more than one chakra nature…. So it is true." Juugo somehow made a conclusion and closed his eyes.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes towards the giant. "Explain." He commanded.

Juugo made himself more comfortable by leaning into one of the machines. He cast a look onto Karin, who just nodded her head.

"There had been rumors inside the cult that Madara-kami had found the remnants of the God Kinshiki. Since that rumor started, Madara-kami had been seen leveling lands with just the wave of his hand. They say that his chakra has doubled. Like he was not only one God anymore, but two." He narrated, a shiver ran down his spine at the memories he had back when he was still inside of the cult and watched his unwilling mother become a puppet to those with power.

"Rumor has it that he had been consuming the body parts of Kinshiki-kami." Karin added, cringing at the mental image.

Sakura put down the flesh and took off her gloves. "The Empress should know."

"And then what? We can't do anything. We are up against a God." Orochimaru stated, putting back the lid on the jar with the heart on it.

"What do you suggest? That we embrace our defeat? Oh no, I'm not going down without a fight." Sakura hissed.

With that Sakura left the room in a hurry, leaving Orochimaru to stare at the heart in front of him.

"Things are gonna get more interesting." He whispered to himself.

* * *

AN: Due to my excitement i accidentally updated without editing. XD Sorry about that.

Thank you so much for the reviews! :D So many theories! Keep them coming guys!

In an unrelated note, what's up with Ootsutsuki's and cannibalism. I think I've read on the Boruto novel that the Ootsutsuki's eats their sires (I am not sure but i think it was Kinshiki who confirmed this). XD So I had the inspiration to make Madara eat Kinshiki's corpse- or was it a corpse? Did Hamura really killed Kinshiki? If not, where was Kinshiki all this time? Doesn't matter though, Madara already turned cannibal on him, oh well.

NH Shipper: Thank you for greeting me. I dedicated this chapter to you as a treat. Come give me a hug you beautiful human being! *chases you*

For the other guest, I give you credit for finding out that Itachi and Sasuke are siblings. Kudos to you!

Halftime: I'll update in your name brotha! *raises Katana and shouts a war cry*

Lord Farsight, had been giving me advises. Thank you me lord.

And as for the fear of this turning into a SasuHina fic, check out my bio, there is one sentence there that would ease your fears. Trust me!

I just noticed that I haven't put any disclaimer. Naruto does not belong to me! All rights belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Shounen Jump Magazine!


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